


Faustian Prompts

by phantomthief_fee



Series: BATIM Drabbles [1]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-28 00:06:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 36
Words: 40,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13259439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomthief_fee/pseuds/phantomthief_fee
Summary: Prompts from MsFaust





	1. The Chain

_Listen to the wind blow_

_Watch the sun rise_

_Run in the shadows_

_Damn your love_

_Damn your lies_

Sammy had always been kind to her. Even if a second before he had been yelling at some poor intern, he’d never yelled at her. He’d smothered her with kind words and kisses, praising her talent and her beauty. When she’d been with him, she’d felt like the most important woman in the world. She was the exception to the rule. Sammy Lawrence was never prickly with her. He was always a complete gentleman. She was special. The one person Samuel Lawrence would never be cruel to. Susie had never considered herself a proud person, but she always found herself feeling superior to others in the studio in this way. She was special. She was exempt from the wrath of the irate music director.

_And if you don't love me now_

_You will never love me again_

_I can still hear you saying_

_You would never break the chain._

He’d promised he’d never leave her. He’d promised! They’d even talked about maybe getting married someday. Sure, Susie had been dumped before, but she’d thought Sammy was a gentleman. She hadn’t expected him to step out on her with Allison Pendle! The girl was nothing more than an intern! An intern he’d yelled at before! She wasn’t special like Susie was. The worst part was that Allison had taken her role too! In an instant, Susie’s role and her boyfriend were gone. Sammy insisted he hadn’t been stepping out on her, but Susie knew the truth. She kept telling herself that she wasn’t jealous. She wasn’t blowing this out of proportion.

_Listen to the wind blow_

_Down comes the night_

_Run in the shadows_

_Damn your love_

_Damn your lies_

Sammy Lawrence was a liar. He’d told her Alice would be bigger than Bendy. But she had been a total flop. He’d told her she did Alice better than anyone else. But she’d been replaced. He’d told her he’d never leave her. But he did. He’d betrayed her for an  _intern_. An intern! Interns came and went. They were replaceable. She would have tried to get Allison fired, but even Joey had abandoned her. He’d moved on to a newer, younger model. The nerve of that man!

_Break the silence_

_Damn the dark_

_Damn the light_

She’d left the studio after cursing out everyone. Sammy had tried to stop her. She didn’t know why. He’d made it clear he didn’t want her anymore, hadn’t he? Life looked up after she left Joey Drew Studios. She got other voice acting jobs, but none of them connected with her the way Alice had. She thought of the studio every day. She couldn’t help but feel a small hint of joy when she heard the studio was failing. Joey shouldn’t have fired her, she thought. Still, she jumped when she received the letter from him inviting her back. It had been a mistake to return though.

_And if you don't love me now_

_You will never love me again_

_I can still hear you saying_

_You would never break the chain._

She was going to be the perfect Alice, no matter what. She would do whatever it took to be perfect. Sammy was barely a memory, although she did think of him often. Maybe one day, she’d find him in this place. She’d heard him on the other levels, praising Bendy. He thought the Ink Demon could set him free. What a fool. Bendy wouldn’t set Sammy free. She could do that for him, as she’d done for herself. But he wasn’t worthy of her help. He had betrayed her and he didn’t deserve the secret to perfection. She couldn’t help but cry when she heard his voice though. She missed him. Allison missed him. Susie steeled her heart. She would be perfect. No matter what.


	2. Happy Prompts

-“I’m going to jail. Damnit, I’m going to jail.”

-“At least it’s just a levitation spell.”

-“So lemme get this straight: this machine gets thrown out of whack, the guy gets hit by lightning, and now he’s super fast?”

 

* * *

 

There was about a week until Sammy’s wedding, and the boys of the studio were taking Sammy out for a bachelor party. He knew, immediately, that this was not a good idea.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Susie assured him.

“You’re just saying that because you’re partying with the sane people,” Sammy said. “Joey’s organizing this.  _Joey_!”

“Well, Henry will be there too.” Susie pointed out. “I’m sure he’ll keep everyone in check.”

“You say that like he’s going to stay sober the whole night.” Sammy was trying his very hardest not to pull out a cigarette. Susie had asked him to quit smoking for the wedding so he was trying.

“Sweetie, just relax.” Susie kissed his cheek. “Just have fun, cut loose! It’ll be alright.”

“Well...If you say so.”

It was not alright. The night started out fine. They met up at the studio because of course Henry was working overtime. The bachelor party consisted of Wally, Sammy, Henry, Joey, Roy, and Shawn. Thomas and Grant had politely declined, perhaps anticipating how terribly the night was going to end. They were having a date night of their own anyway. Norman was off visiting family, so he couldn’t come. Susie went off with Cordelia, Allison, and some other female employees to have their own party.

“Have fun, stay safe~” She said as she and the other women left the building.

“So, what do you have planned?” Sammy asked, turning to Joey. Joey just grinned, which was frankly a terrible sign.

“Oh, I have a few ideas.”

In retrospect, Sammy really should have asked for more specifics. But Susie had told him to relax and to have fun, so he did. Joey took them to a little hole in the wall bar that looked like something out of a noir film.

“This place used to be a speakeasy,” Joey said brightly as they walked in. “I almost got arrested a bunch of times here.”

“That’s....nice,” Sammy said slowly.

“Joey, this doesn’t seem appropriate for a bachelor party,” Henry said, tugging at Joey’s sleeve.

“Nonsense! It’s a fine place for a party!” Joey then waltzed right up to the bar and ordered something none of them could hear.

“We’re going to get arrested by the end of the night,” Roy said. Up until this point, he hadn’t spoken a word, simply looming above everyone else.

“We’re not gonna get arrested!” Wally laughed nervously. “Right?”

“We won’t.” Henry tried to assure them. They found a table and sat down, Joey coming up to them a few minutes later with a bottle of suspicious looking green alcohol.

“Drink up everyone!” He said. None of them trusted this alcohol, but no one had the courage to say no to Joey. So they all downed their shots. This was a mistake. As it turned out, the alcohol was absinthe, because of course Joey would try to fuck them up with the fucking Green Fairy drink. About an hour later they were out on the street, singing loudly and stumbling around. Shawn and Wally kept trying to get into fights, while Joey hung all over Henry. Roy seemed sober, but it was hard to tell with him, honestly. He just kept staring at people and muttering to himself. Sammy found himself feeling rather giddy. He was just...happy. He didn’t understand why he was so happy. Things only started to go downhill once Wally and Shawn tried fighting a couple police officers.

“Alright, gentleman. You’re going to have to come with us.” The officer said. That was when Roy stepped up, opened his mouth, then vomited all over the police officer. After this, he fell over. Joey started giggling for some reason, clapping his hands and pointing at the fallen man. The officers just sighed and got the men into the car.

“I’m going to jail. Damnit, I’m going to jail.” Sammy muttered. “I knew letting you organize the party was a bad idea, Joey!” Joey just giggled louder, ending up full on cackling. Henry had started sobbing about how he couldn’t go to jail. In the other car, Wally and Shawn were trying to kick each other while Roy lay slumped in between them.

The next thing Sammy knew, he was waking up on a bench with a horrible headache. Sitting up and looking around, he found he was in a holding cell. Henry was sleeping on a bench not too far away, draped over Joey. Wally and Shawn were on the floor and Roy was leaning against the bars. On the other side of the bars were Susie, Allison, and Cordelia. Susie did not look happy in the slightest.

“Joey.” She said, folding her arms. Joey looked up, very much resembling a small child caught doing something they shouldn’t have.

“Hello, Susie.” He smiled weakly. “What are you doing here?”

“Bailing out your asses,” Susie said. “Apparently you were booked for drunken and disorderly conduct.”

“He gave us absinthe,” Roy said, trying his hardest to pull his hat over his eyes.

“Fucking absinthe?!” Sammy yelled, waking up everyone else in the cell, resulting in a cacophony of groans.

“I-It seemed like a good idea.” Joey put his hands up. “I thought things would get interesting.”

“Mm-hm.” Susie pursed her lips, a perfect picture of disapproval. “You’re paying me back for this, Drew.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Now come on. I paid your bail.”

Everyone latched onto someone else as they made their way out of the cell. It certainly was a night they were going to remember for a long time. It would also be used as evidence as to why Joey was not allowed to plan any kind of party outside of the studio ever again. Roy didn’t set foot anywhere near the studio for nearly two months afterwards.

.

.

Joey was practising spells. Again. This was not a good thing. Especially not since he was testing the spells out on unsuspecting employees. They found this out when Grant suddenly found himself floating out of his chair and onto the ceiling. For a moment, the accountant just sighed. Then he began to curse at the top of his lungs. People were soon drawn to his office by the loud cursing.

“I TOLD YOU HE WAS REAL!” Wally yelled, pointing at the man plastered to the ceiling.

“Sweet Jesus!” Shawn shrieked. “Why is he on the ceiling?”

“Because Joey’s dipping into the black magic again,” Thomas said. He’d been in the vicinity when Grant had started floating and thus had gotten a pole to try and get the man down. Grant finally stopped swearing, but he was red in the face.

“I am going to kill him once I get my hands on him,” Grant growled. No one had ever seen him this angry before. Few people had ever seen him at all.

“Should I go talk to him?” Henry asked.

“That’d probably be a good idea.” Thomas nodded as he tied Grant to his chair. “I’ll take care of Grant.”

“Alright, everyone, back to work,” Henry said, trying to disperse the employees. “Nothing to see here. Just more of Joey’s bullshit.”

“I hate working for him,” Grant muttered, angrily going back to the finances.

“We all do,” Thomas said as Henry made his way to Joey’s office. When he entered, he found Joey in the middle of a pentagram, chanting over a thick tome.

“Oh, hello Henry!” He looked up when his friend entered, smiling brightly.

“Grant’s really pissed off,” Henry said. “You made him float. Thomas tied him to his chair so he won’t end up on the ceiling again.”

“At least it’s just a levitation spell.” Joey waved a hand dismissively. Henry sighed and snatched away the tome from Joey, blowing out the candles.

“No more black magic.” Herny scolded him as though he were an unruly child.

“But why?” Joey whined, trying to get the book back. Henry, somehow, managed to hold it out of his reach.

“Because.” He said. “I think everyone is one spell away from killing you.”

“They won’t kill me.”

“They might quit.”

“Mm. Good point.” Joey seemed to consider this possibility before finally letting Henry take the book. He wasn’t happy about it, but in the end, he gave it up. It took about an hour for the spell on Grant to wear off, and the accountant stayed angry for at least a week afterwards.

.

.

“So lemme get this straight: this machine gets thrown out of whack, the guy gets hit by lightning, and now he’s super fast?” Sammy asked, squinting at the screen. He, Wally, Joey, Susie, Norman, and Henry had gathered in the projection room for a marathon of the Flash TV series. Norman was normally a Marvel fan, but he really liked how this series portrayed the character of the flash.

“That’s how it works, yes,” Norman confirmed. “I’m aware it doesn’t make a lot of sense, scientifically speaking, but superheroes aren’t really scientific.”

“I think it’s really good,” Susie said. “So many superheroes are all doom and gloom. Barry’s just fun to watch!”

“None of this makes sense,” Sammy said, shrugging. “But if it makes you guys happy, then I’m willing to watch it.” He had to admit, the character of Barry did remind him a little bit of Wally.

“What did you think, Joey?” Henry asked, looking over at Joey. Joey was grinning and tapping his fingers together.

“I don’t like that look,” Sammy said.

“Wally, how do you feel about getting superpowers?” Joey asked, turning to Wally.

“FUCK  YEAH!”

“JOEY, NO!”


	3. Pokemon Prompts

[Pokemon related-prompts](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/168650606245/pokemon-related-prompts) 

 

 

> -The (probably) angsty one: What if BATIM played out more like Mewtwo Strikes Back  
> -The funny one: Someone’s having trouble with a Gym Leader/catching a Legendary.
> 
> Also, check [this](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fm.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dn4gikqAZuEY&t=YThkYzkxMjZmZjk2YWU2NTVlZjgxYzU5NTQyM2VmN2U5MTYyODk3ZCxoY2NYeVl3WQ%3D%3D&b=t%3Abf1mUcY3jG5LyWt2YecXMQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fqueenofcats17.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168650606245%2Fpokemon-related-prompts&m=1) out. (Note: they didn’t use the entire song.)
> 
>  

Okay, I am down for this, 100%. Mewtwo is my favourite Pokemon and Mewtwo Strikes Back is my favourite childhood movie.

* * *

_They would pay for what they’d done to him. They’d created him then abandoned him. They would all pay for their insolence._

Henry gazed up at the studio. It had certainly gotten a lot bigger since the last time he’d been there. He breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been worried that the studio had gone under after he’d left. He’d felt so guilty for years, thinking his departure had driven the last nail into the coffin of Joey Drew. 

“Is that- Henry! It is you!” Henry turned around, just in time for a blue blur to tackle him. 

“Susie?” Henry looked down at the woman latched onto him. 

“Sorry, I tried to stop her.” A haggard man said, strolling up. 

“Sammy?” Henry frowned. 

“It’s so good to see you!” Susie said, finally letting go. “My God, it’s been so long!” 

“It’s good to see you too.” Henry nodded slowly. “But what are you doing here?”

“We got a letter.” Sammy pulled a crumpled letter out of his back pocket. “I’m guessing you got one too.” Henry nodded, fishing out his own letter. 

“I thought you both still worked here.” He said.

“We quit years ago,” Susie said, her smile quickly fading. “Practically everyone saw how crazy Joey was getting.”

“We got the fuck out as soon as we could.” Sammy put an arm around Susie’s shoulder. “Went about as well as you leaving did.” All three of them exchanged glances before looking at the studio itself. None of them could understand why Joey would want them to come back, considering how badly they’d left things.

“Holy shit!” Sammy bristled at the familiar voice as Wally Franks came running over. 

“Hello, Franks.” Sammy pinched the bridge of his nose. “What are you doing here?”

“I got a letter,” Wally said. “What’re you all doing here?”

“We all got a letter,” Henry said. 

“Wonder what Joey wants us back here for,” Wally said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I mean, none of us left on good terms.”

“Well, we’ll never know if we don’t go in,” Henry said, forcing a smile. “Why don’t we see what Joey wants to show us?” He then turned and opened the door. Inside, they found a bustling work environment. It wasn’t too dissimilar from the studio back when they’d been working there. The difference? All the workers seemed to be sentient blobs of ink.

“What the-” Sammy muttered, only to be cut off by a familiar face appearing in front of them.

“Welcome to Joey Drew Studios!”

“Joey?” Henry asked. The creature before them, which resembled a toon version of Joey, grinned and bowed.

“That’s me!” He said. “Good to see you all got my letters!”

“You’re a fucking cartoon,” Sammy said. “Why are you a fucking cartoon?”

“Ah ah ah.” Joey wagged his finger at the former music director. “Language, Sammy. We’re a family-friendly studio.”

“Yeah, but why are you a cartoon?” Wally asked.

“We’ll get to that,” Joey assured them. “But for now, would you like to see how much we’ve accomplished since the change in management?”

“The change in management?” Susie tilted her head to the side. “What are you talking about? Are you not in charge of the studio anymore?”

“It’s a long story. We’ll get to it.” Joey was already starting to walk away. “Follow me. Follow me.”

_He watched from his office as Joey led them deeper into the studio. He’d gathered them all together for this moment, to witness the creation they’d all tried to destroy. He would have his vengeance. He would not be forgotten._

.

.

 

“FUCK!”

Bendy stopped what he’d been doing. That hadn’t been Sammy’s voice. Normally when someone started yelling curse words it was usually Sammy. But that had been Wally’s voice. Bendy crept to the janitor’s closet, where he found Wally hunched over a DS.

“Whatcha doin’?” Bendy asked.

“Playing Pokemon,” Wally said. “I can’t beat this stupid Nihilego!”

“Can I watch?” Bendy didn’t even wait for Wally’s response before snuggling up to Wally to watch the janitor try to beat the Pokemon.

“Who’s the lady in the Pokemon?” Bendy asked. “Why’s she all black and stuff?”

“That’s Lusamine. She’s the villain of the game.” Wally explained. “She fused with the Pokemon for power and stuff.”

“Like what Joey tried to do with the ink?”

“…Yeah. Kinda.” Wally had to stop for a second and realize how similar to this video game his life was.

“Are you having an existential crisis?” Bendy asked.

“Yeah.”


	4. Chapter 4

> by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> Kinda weird idea: what if Alice/‘Alice’ had a [tsundere personality](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Ftvtropes.org%2Fpmwiki%2Fpmwiki.php%2FMain%2FTsundere&t=YTRlYzNiMjVjMDAyZjg1NWYwYWM1ZTVhYjFjZWUyMmVjZmFhMjkzYSw3Ym1qWTFSUg%3D%3D&b=t%3Abf1mUcY3jG5LyWt2YecXMQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fqueenofcats17.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F168764232050%2Fby-magicalmonsterhero-kinda-weird-idea-what-if&m=1)?
> 
> “No! I don’t like you! I just want to get out of here and see Susie, that’s all! Stupidjerkfacestupidwolfstupidinkdemon…”

That’s an interesting idea. 

* * *

When Alice had first been summoned, she had not been at all cooperative. She’d folded her arms and refused to talk to anyone. 

“No! I don’t like you!” She said, refusing to look at Joey. 

“Well, would you like to see Susie?” Joey asked. “She’s your voice actress.” Alice side eyed him. 

“You’re just trying to get rid of me.” She huffed, turning her nose up at the studio owner. “It’s not like I’m interested in you.” Joey didn’t know how to deal with people on the best of days, so this was absolutely a nightmare. 

“Alright.” He slowly got up. “Susie? You can come in now.” Susie threw the door open, running in. 

“She’s really here!” Susie squealed, clapping her hands together. “I can’t believe it! She’s just as beautiful as she is in the cartoons!” 

Alice’s cheeks flushed grey, but she quickly turned away. “Of course I am! It’s not like you’re pretty, though. You’re an ugly hag!” 

“Ah, she really is just like the cartoons.” Susie sighed, resting her head in her hands. 

“Would…Would you like her to leave?” Joey asked. 

“No! She stays!” Alice stamped her foot. 

“I’m confused.” Joey looked from Susie to Alice. “Why is she acting like this?”

“You made her a tsundere, remember?” Susie said. “It means she lashes out to hide her true feelings.”

“I’m not like that at all!”

“Right.” Why had he done that again? 

“Why don’t we go around the studio?” Susie suggested, holding her hand out to Alice. Alice frowned but took it. 

“I’m not doing this because I like you.” She said. 

“I know, sweetie.” Susie smiled kindly and led Alice out of Joey’s office and into the main studio. Alice glared at everyone who even got near Susie, causing more than a few interns to run away. Sammy was working away when they entered his office. 

“Sammy? We have a new addition to the studio.” Susie said. Sammy turned around slowly. 

“Oh.” His eyes widened slightly. “Yeah, that’s new.” Alice latched onto Susie, glaring at Sammy like he was trying to steal her toy. 

“Yeah, she’s about what I expected.” Sammy sighed. 

“What does that mean?!” Alice demanded. 

“Nothing nothing.” Sammy threw his hands in the air and turned back around to get back to work. Susie sighed. Yep. This was going to be interesting. 


	5. Quote Prompts

> Prompts by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> Quotes:  
> -“You can have me. Just leave my employees alone, and my soul is yours.” (Joey)  
> -“Don’t worry, [Henry/Boris]. I’ve got him.” (Susie)
> 
> And a holiday bonus: BATIM, Die Hard style. :)

This is going to be good. >:3 This will be very angsty heavy. Also, I’m not entirely sure how to do BATIM as Die Hard. ^^” I’m very tired.

* * *

Joey Drew was an ambitious man. He would do whatever he had to in order to get what he wanted. He had little regard for the lives of anyone but himself. He worked his employees to the bone and tolerated nothing less than perfection. However, it didn’t occur to him how low he’d fallen until he was face to face with a demon. Joey had summoned a demon in order to make his cartoons live. In retrospect, this had been a terrible decision. 

“Mr Drew. What a pleasant surprise.” The demon purred. “I had a feeling I’d be speaking to you.”

“You…You did?” Joey laughed nervously. 

“I did.” The demon said. “Now, what would you ask of me, Joseph Drew?”

“I want my cartoons to live.” Joey got up from the kneeling position he’d assumed in order to summon the demon. “I want them to be remembered forever!”

“That’s quite a goal.” The demon tapped his chin. “It’ll cost you quite a bit for me to fulfill that.”

“I’ll do anything!” Joey said. 

“Hmm. Well, a soul for a soul is a fair trade.” The demon said. “I’ll take the souls of all your employees as compensation.”

“The souls of…” Joey blinked. “My employees?”

“Yes.” The demon smiled wide, flashing his sharp teeth. “A small price to pay, don’t you think?” For a moment, Joey found himself agreeing with the demon. Then he shook his head. 

“No, I can’t do that.” He said, running a hand through his hair. “They’d never forgive me.” 

The demon rolled his eyes. “Really? You’re developing a conscience now? Don’t you want to get what you want, Joey?”

“You can have  **me**. Just leave my employees alone, and my soul is yours.” Joey said, putting a hand on his chest. 

“Ugh. Fine. Whatever.” The demon conjured a contract and held it out to Joey. “Sign on the dotted line.”

“Will my characters still live on?” Joey asked as he took the contract and provided pen. 

“They’ll be remembered. That’s all I can promise for the price of one soul.” The demon said. Joey nodded, signing on the dotted line. The demon took back the contract and rolled it up. 

“I’ll give you one day to put your things in order. Then I’ll come to collect.” He vanished in a column of flame. Joey stood there for a moment, unable to believe what he’d done. He sat down at his desk, head in his hands. How had he gotten to this point, he wondered. How had he become so desperate?

“Joey?” He looked up to see Henry in the doorway. 

“Ah! Perfect timing!” Joey put on a huge smile. “I have something for you.” He pulled out a file folder and handed it over. Henry frowned and looked through the folder. 

“This is-”

“The rights to Bendy, Boris, Alice, every cartoon character we’ve ever created,” Joey said. 

“Why are you giving this to me?” Henry asked. 

“I…I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” Joey said, folding his hands on the desk. “You’re basically the father of all these toons. I want you to make them something amazing when I’m gone.”

“When you’re gone?” Henry couldn’t help but laugh. “Joey, you’re talking like you’re going to die!”

“I’m not going to die.” Joey shook his head, laughing as well. “But I won’t be around forever. I want this place to continue long after I’m gone. I want people to remember what we’ve done.” Henry put a hand on Joey’s shoulder.

“I promise,” he said. “People will remember us.” 

“Thank you, Henry.” Joey smiled. “You should probably get back to work now.”

“Of course.” Henry got up and left, leaving Joey alone. The studio head sighed, his whole body almost seeming to deflate. He’d made so many mistakes to get to this point. He wouldn’t make any more. His employees wouldn’t suffer for his actions.

“Everyone, I have an announcement to make.” Joey had gathered almost all of the employees in the break room as he stood on one of the tables. “I wanted to say…Thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and for this studio. You, all of you, are truly what keeps this place running. I wouldn’t have been able to do all I have if it hadn’t been for all of you. I will cherish the time I spent with each and every one of you for the rest of my life.” He paused for a moment, composing himself. “And I hope you will all remember me fondly. Thank you.” Then he got down off the table and left. 

That was the last anyone saw of Joey Drew. Many moved on to bigger, more successful studios. But many stayed, whether out of some misplaced loyalty to Joey Drew or a genuine love of the studio. Henry took over and proved to be as, if not more, effective than Joey at running the studio. He kept his promise and he made Bendy and company into an enduring legacy. They were nowhere near as popular as the Disney cast, but years later people were still talking about the little dancing demon. Henry was proud of himself when he finally retired. He had done what he set out to do. Bendy, Alice, Boris, the Butcher Gang, all of them were staples of popular culture. He could die happy. And down in Hell, Joey Drew smiled. He was so proud of his friend. He’d known Henry would go far. 

.

.

She could finally see clearly now. She’d been so wrong. She almost felt moved to tears. She’d been so cruel, but Henry had still saved her in the end. 

“Are you alright?” Henry asked as he knelt before her. She nodded. Boris whimpered a little, backing up as she stood. 

“I’m so sorry, Boris.” She said, reaching out to him. Boris hesitated, but let her pat his head. In the back of her mind, Allison let out a small cheer.

“Alice-” Henry started to say. 

“No, Susie.” She corrected him. “I’m not Alice. I never was, and I never will be. It was foolish of me to think I could become her.” 

“It wasn’t foolish,” Henry assured her. “The ink corrupted you. You weren’t in your right mind.” Even knowing that she couldn’t quash her guilt. She’d done terrible things. 

“Well well, the false angel has fallen.” A familiar voice came from the doorway. All three of them turned around to see Sammy Lawrence standing there. He’d found a new mask, apparently, but looked the same as he had the last time Henry had seen him.

“Sammy!” Henry hefted his axe, ready for a fight. Susie put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. 

“Don’t worry, Henry. I’ve got him.” She said. “You two go on ahead.” Henry opened his mouth to protest, but Boris was already tugging him away. Susie watched them leave, a wistful smile on her face. 

“Sammy.” She turned back to the man she’d once thought she loved. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

“You speak as if you know me,” Sammy said. “You are nothing but a harlot, a whore of Babylon who profanes his name and destroys his effigies.”

“I’m not Alice Angel.” She said. 

“Of course you aren’t! You’re a pretender!”

“I’m Susie.” She took a step towards Sammy. “And I missed you. I missed you so much.” All the hatred she’d held towards him was gone. He hadn’t betrayed her. She’d been wrong. Sammy stopped, staring at her in what she assumed was shock. 

“Su…Susie?” He whispered. For a moment, he almost seemed like the man she’d admired. 

“Yes.” She closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around him. “I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

“You left!” He tried to push her away. “You called me a liar! You said I betrayed you!”

“I was wrong.” She held fast, drawing him closer. “And this time, I’m not going to let you go.”


	6. A Quote And A Concept

[A quote and a concept](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/169003775125/a-quote-and-a-concept)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“I promised to get them out and let ‘em meet the real Sillyvision crew. That goes for you too, Alice.”
> 
> -Susie and Allison (or some other duo) have a sing-off.

Alright, let’s do this.

* * *

Henry stood before the creature identifying itself as Alice Angel, Boris and Bendy behind him. They had had to fight their way back, through hoards of searchers and Butcher Gang clones, but they were finally back in Alice’s sanctuary. This was the first time Bendy had ever been back there. He wasn’t too terribly happy about being in Alice’s domain, but if his presence was going to get her to come with them, he’d do it.

“What are you doing with  _them_?” Alice demanded. “How did you get them on your side?” She had been counting on the fact that Bendy wouldn’t trust Henry, not after what had happened with Joey. But now that they were working together, she didn’t stand a chance. They would defeat her for sure. 

“I promised to get them out and let ‘em meet the real Sillyvision crew. That goes for you too, Alice.” Henry said. 

“You…You want to help me?” Alice asked. 

“You’re one of us, Angel.” Bendy said. 

“Come with us.” Boris said, wringing his hands. “We can get out. Together.” Alice backed up, shaking her head and clawing at her hair. 

“No. Nonononononono.” She muttered. “The Ink Demon could still find me. Could still touch me! He could still drag me back!”

“We won’t let Joey hurt you.” Henry stepped forward, holding a hand out to Alice. “We’ll keep you safe, Alice, I promise.” Alice kept making little noises, stumbling back and hitting the wall. 

“We gotta get in there!” Bendy said, looking frantically at Henry. “Do something!” Henry nodded and hefted his axe, shattering the window. Bendy jumped inside, Boris close behind, and sprinted over to Alice. Quickly, he wrapped his arms around her, urging Boris to do the same. 

“We’re a family,” Bendy said. “We ain’t gonna leave ya.” Slowly, Alice’s form began to get smaller until she resembled her cartoon counterpart. She looked up, teary-eyed. 

“You…You all really care about me that much?” She sniffled. 

“Of course we do.” Boris gave her a big goofy grin. “Like Bendy said, we’re a family.” Henry couldn’t help but smile as he watched the scene unfold. He wasn’t going to let Joey ruin the legacy he’d worked for. These toons would get out safely, even if he had to kill Joey for it to happen.

.

.

It was karaoke night, and Allison and Susie were going to have a sing-off. Everyone was anticipating a cat fight, despite the two having long since put their differences aside. Still, they thought it would be fun to sing a duet. 

“What’re they singing, anyway?” Wally asked, leaning over to whisper to Sammy. 

“Something from Anne Get Your Gun.” Sammy shrugged. “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better, I think.”

“Oooh. I like that one.” 

Soon enough, Allison and Susie took the stage, curtseying to the audience and to one another. 

“Tonight, we’ll be singing Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better, from Annie get your gun.” Allison said, picking up a microphone. 

“I’ll be singing the part of Frank, while Allison will be singing the part of Annie.” Susie said, taking another. They cued up the music and began. 

“Anything you can do I can do better. I can do anything better than you.” Allison sang. 

“No, you can’t.” Susie sang back.

“Yes, I can.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Yes, I can.”

“No, you can’t.”

“Yes, I can! Yes, I can!”

Susie pretended to be hurt, then began again. “Anything you can be I can be greater. Sooner or later I’m greater than you.” 

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am, yes I am!” Susie said, sticking her tongue out. “Any note you can reach I can go higher.”

“I can sing anything higher than you.” Allison retorted, going up an octave. This led to them repeating “No, you can’t” and “Yes, I can” in increasingly higher pitched voices until Allison came out on top, singing so high everyone’s ears hurt. The song continued for a good few more minutes, each of them supposedly thinking of things that they could do better than the other. 

“Are they…flirting?” Wally whispered. “They’re totally flirting, right?” It was fairly obvious that neither woman was actually taking the song seriously. The animosity that was supposed to be there was nowhere to be found.

“Sure looks like it.” Sammy said, sipping his drink. He wasn’t really surprised. He’d been letting the two of them use his sanctuary for romantic trysts for a good long while now. 


	7. Chapter 7

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -Susie was quiet for a moment. Finally, she reached out and closed the car door.  
> “Drive.”  
> -“Check it out! They put Will’s song in the game!”
> 
> -Someone has a musical number daydream. (Bonus points if they’re singing Build Our Machine, Can’t Be Erased, or a song from Hamilton.)

This’ll probably be my last story of 2017! How exciting!

[This](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7WpZXb6j_2E&t=OWRkNzAwYjY5YzA4YjdkZDU1ZWM3NWI5OTRlZDcwMWMzM2M0MjY4MCxBQXFMVGZtVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3Abf1mUcY3jG5LyWt2YecXMQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fqueenofcats17.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F169162001675%2Fsubmitted-by-magicalmonsterhero-susie-was-quiet&m=1) was the inspiration for the Can’t Be Erased Number. 

* * *

Susie had had a bad day. She’d been replaced. Apparently, she hadn’t been a satisfactory Alice. Changes had to be made, Joey had said. Susie had left the studio in tears. At present, she was sitting on the curb outside the studio, still crying. Alice had been her life! How dare Joey take that away from her?! And  _Sammy_. He’d been with that Allison! He’d betrayed her! Suddenly she heard a car drive up. Looking up, she saw Sammy’s car in front of her. 

“It’s going to rain soon.” He said. “You should head home.” 

“I took the bus.” She hunkered down on the curb. “My car’s in the shop.”

“Do you want a ride home?” 

“Not from you!” She said, almost on the brink of tears once more. Sammy’s shoulders slumped and he looked at her with a tired expression. 

“Is this about Allison?” He asked. She didn’t answer. He sighed. 

“It’s not her fault, Susie.” He said. “She’s just a kid. She didn’t ask to get the job. I couldn’t just yell at her.”

“You love her more than you love me.” Susie whimpered. 

“Susie…” Sammy opened the car door and beckoned her in. “Look, I love  _you_. Alli’s just a coworker. She’s got a little crush on me, but I don’t return the feelings and she knows it. And, you might not have the role of Alice anymore, but you have me. I’m not going to abandon you, Susie. Not now, not ever.” Susie was quiet for a moment. Finally, she reached out and closed the car door.  
“Drive.”   
.

.

After the success of Joey’s movie effort, a game developed called theMeatly offered to create a game based on their studio. Joey, of course, accepted the offer without a second thought. It was all so exciting. They decided the game would be divided into five chapters, each one focusing on a different part of the studio. Around the time of the release of the second chapter of the game, Sammy discovered a singer/songwriter on YouTube named Will Ryan who went by DA Games. DA Games had produced a few songs for the game, but Sammy’s favourite was Gospel Of Dismay. He’d even talked to theMeatly about getting it incorporated into the game as an easter egg. 

“You’re really excited about this, huh?” Bendy said as they all crowded around the computer. TheMeatly had released a new update to the game which he promised would include the easter egg Sammy had requested. 

“It’s always good to see Sammy excited about something!” Joey said. 

“Everyone, shut up!” Sammy said as he entered his virtual office. He moved towards the radio and clicked on it. The tinny sounds of an instrumental version of Gospel Of Dismay began to play.

“Check it out! They put Will’s song in the game!” Bendy began to jump up and down. Sammy grinned, leaning back in his chair. 

“I’d hoped they would.” He said. He moved to turn off the game, but Bendy stopped him. 

“We gotta see you appear!” The little demon said. Sammy rolled his eyes but kept playing.

.

.

Bendy had been listening to a lot of songs based on the game that was based on their movie. His favourite happened to be Can’t Be Erased, by JT Machinima. He liked dreaming about it being a big musical number. 

“I’m the dancing demon, watch me twirl and hop and spin,” he hummed to himself. “I’m quick to give a smile but I won’t forget your sins.” Then he started to laugh maniacally, the landscape in his mind beginning to change. He stood before Henry, large and monstrous. 

“The wonders of imagination.” He boomed. “ Welcome home dear friend. How long we’ve all been waitin’.” He leered down at the terrified Henry. “Let’s create a masterpiece, breathe life into your dreams! All you gotta do is start up the machine!” A pounding beat started as he began to chase the animator through the halls. 

“I’m the product of an artist whose creations bring delight. Upon this sombre threshold, imagination comes to life. Just free yourself from reason, soon you’ll see in black and white. Call me a seed of evil, but what’s that mean if I’m conceived within your mind?” He sang. He never went too fast, always following just a few steps behind the poor animator. “Leaking from the ceiling, ink is bleeding through the lines. Is that your heart that’s beating or illusion you’re alive?” 

Almost immediately, the scene switched to Henry collecting the pieces to power the Ink Machine.

“Collect what’s necessary, keep appeasing the divines. It’s me you should be believing, cuz he’s deceiving you with lies.” An image of Joey appeared before their faces, smiling maniacally.

“Bendy? Bendy, what are you singing?” 

Bendy opened his eyes. Joey was indeed standing before him, but he wasn’t in the musical world he’d been thinking of. 

“Uh, nothing.” He said quickly. Joey didn’t really care for rap. 

“Very well.” Joey turned away. “Let’s get back to work, shall we?” Bendy nodded, mentally reminding himself to avoid singing when Joey was around.


	8. Chapter 8

[If you’re not busy with other writing…](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/169292531460/if-youre-not-busy-with-other-writing)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“Sorry about the whole thing with the elevator. I had to make it look convincing.”  
>  -“There is an entire movie franchise that explains why that is a bad idea.”  
>  -“You start singing that Peter Pan song, and I will kick your ass.”

I’m a little sick, so sorry this took so long.

* * *

Joey wanted to speak to Allison on level 9, so she was taking the elevator down. She couldn’t help but feel a bit scared. Joey might have currently been her boyfriend, but she wasn’t sure what lengths he’d go to in order to make his dreams a reality. Not to mention, she’d heard he was speaking to Susie on level 9 at the moment. Susie really scared Allison. The new voice actress had previously been working as an intern before becoming Alice’s new voice, and she’d seen how terrifying Susie could be when she was angry. Recently, Susie’s anger had been directed at Allison for replacing her. And, sure enough, when the doors to the elevator opened, Susie was waiting. The older woman’s face contorted in rage and she grabbed Allison by the collar of her dress. 

“What are you doing here?!” She screamed. 

“J-Joey wanted to talk to me.” Allison shrunk away. 

“Susie, let her go,” Joey said calmly. “I called her down here to have a chat with her.” Susie glared back at him before dropping Allison and storming away. 

“I will be Alice again!” She yelled before disappearing. “Mark my words!” Allison was nearly in tears by that time. Joey knelt beside her, helping her up and rubbing her back. 

“There there.” He said. “It’s alright.” He took her into the half-finished Alice Angel theme park and chatted with her about how she felt about the job and the character of Alice Angel. He seemed disappointed by the time she left, although she couldn’t understand why. So she went about her day, and everything was normal until lunch break. That was when she was walking to the break room and was pulled into a closet. Allison quickly began to panic, especially when she saw who had pulled her in. It was Susie Campbell. 

“Sorry about the whole thing with the elevator. I had to make it look convincing.” Susie whispered. “Are you alright?”

“S-Sorry?” Allison stammered, a bit taken aback. “W-What are you talking about?”

“I had to keep making him think I hate you,” Susie explained. 

“You…You don’t hate me?” Now Allison was confused. Everything she’d seen up until this point had told her Susie Campbell abhorred her. 

“Of course not, dear.” Susie shook her head, smiling kindly. “I really am sorry for all I’ve put you through.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” Allison asked. 

“Because you need to get out of here.” Susie’s expression quickly turned grim.

“Excuse me?”

“You need to run and not look back.” Susie put her hands on Allison’s shoulders. “Joey’s planning something and I don’t want you to suffer because of him.”

“But…He wouldn’t hurt me.” Allison said weakly. “He wouldn’t.” He would, and she knew it. She loved Joey, she really did, but there had always been something strange about him. When he told her he loved her, she could always tell he didn’t completely mean what he said. He loved the studio, he loved his work. People didn’t mean as much to him.

“Sweetie, please, trust me.” Susie said. “You need to get out while you still can.”

“But what about you?” Allison asked. “Won’t you get hurt if I leave?”

“I’m no angel. I deserve whatever happens.” Susie smiled wearily. 

“But-”

“No buts.”

Allison lowered her head and nodded. Then she left the closet. Susie waited until she knew the girl was gone before beginning to cry. She didn’t want to die because of Joey, but better her than Allison. Allison was just a kid. She didn’t deserve this. Susie did, at least in her mind. She had hated Allison at first. She’d hated the girl who’d stolen her role and her boyfriend. It was only Sammy who had been able to talk her out of it. He’d showed her the error of her ways. Susie was no angel. She deserved this. After all, she’d be Alice forever. 

.

.

“Joey, this is a bad idea.”

“Nonsense!” Joey said, putting the Ouija board on the table. “This is an excellent idea. What better thing to do on Halloween than contact the dead?”

“There is an entire movie franchise that explains why that is a bad idea,” Henry said. 

“Movies aren’t real.” Joey waved a hand dismissively. 

“I dunno, I think I’m with Henry on this.” Wally said, looking over his shoulder. “My ma always said not to mess with this kinda shit.”

“What’s wrong? Are you scared, Franks?” Sammy snickered. 

“Yes, I’m scared!” Wally snapped. “You should be too! You don’t mess with the supernatural! It’s a bad idea!”

“Everyone sit down and put your hands on the board!” Joey announced. There was a few minutes of a shuffling and arguing before everyone eventually sat down and put their hands on the little pointed. 

“Is there anyone here with us?” Joey asked. For a moment or two, nothing happened. 

“This is bullshit,” Sammy said, starting to get up. “I knew it wouldn’t work.” Then the pointer moved to ‘yes’. Everyone’s eyes widened. Wally crossed himself. Joey’s whole face just lit up. 

“What’s your name?” He asked. The pointer began to move. 

“Y. O. U. F. I. R. S. T.” Henry read. “You first.”

“Don’t give it your name.” Wally hissed. 

“My name is Joey Drew,” Joey said, heedless of Wally’s warning. “And these are my friends Henry, Wally, and Sammy.”

“We’ve been promoted to friends. Wow.” Sammy said, raising an eyebrow. The pointer began to move once more. 

“N. I. C. E. T. O. M. E. E. T. Y. O. U.” Henry read. “It’s very….polite.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Joey said brightly. “But I never did catch your name.”

“A. L. I. S. T. A. I. R.” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Alistair,” Joey said. “So, what manner of being are you?”

They spoke with Alistair for nearly two hours. Apparently, he was a Scottish immigrant from the mid 1800′s who’d been murdered and buried in that very spot by one of his friends over ten dollars. Joey believed every word the spirit told him, but the others were a little more sceptical. 

“You can’t seriously be believing this,” Sammy said. “We never found any skeletons when we dug up the foundation.”

“His body was probably moved,” Joey said. 

“It’s a demon,” Wally whispered. “It’s just tryin’ to lull us into a false sense of security so it can take our souls.”

“R. U. D. E.” 

“I’m not rude!” Wally said, jumping up.

“I mean, you’re not polite,” Sammy said.

“Screw this! I’m outta here!” Wally grabbed his coat and ran out.

“I should probably get going too.” Sammy stood up as well. “It’s getting late. Remember to say goodbye and close the board and all that shit.” He waved and left the room.

“Would you like to finish this up with me or should I do it alone?” Joey asked. 

“I have to get home to Linda.” Henry smiled apologetically. 

“Go on.” Joey shooed him out. “I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”

“Alright.”

Then it was just Joey. He stared down at the board, smiling to himself. 

“It really was a pleasure talking to you, Alistair. I’m sorry about my friends.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The pointer spelled out. “I liked talking to you too.”

“I should probably be going now,” Joey said, readying himself to close out the board. 

“Wait, don’t go yet.” 

“You want to talk more?” Joey asked. 

“Tell me, what do you want in life, Joey?”

“I want my studio to be successful,” Joey replied without hesitation. “I want my work to live beyond me. I want my creations to live.”

“I can do that for you, Joey. I can make your dreams a reality.” 

“I…I should be going.” Joey stood up quickly. “It was nice talking to you.” He ran out of the room before he could get an answer. But Alistair had what he wanted. Joey had forgotten to close the board. He had a way in. 

.

.

Wally came in to clean Sammy’s office and found him on the ceiling.

“You start singing that Peter Pan song and I will kick your ass,” Sammy growled from the ceiling. 

“How…How did this happen?” Wally asked, trying very hard not to laugh. 

“Joey.”

“Did someone say my name?” Joey poked his head into Sammy’s office. “Oh. Hello, Sammy!”

“Joey.” Sammy put his hands together in front of his face. “What did you do?” 

“Pardon?”

“What did you do?” Sammy repeated. “Because I was just sitting at my desk and suddenly I started floating. So, what did you do?” Wally turned to look at Joey, still trying desperately not to laugh. He was really trying. He was. 

“Okay, it actually wasn’t me this time,” Joey said. 

“Then who was it?” Sammy asked. “Because you’re the only one who knows dark magic.” 

“Hey, Joey, I found the toons messing around with your books.” Henry walked up, holding Joey’s grimoires in one hand. 

“Well, now we know.” Joey said brightly, taking the grimoires. “Thank you, Henry.”

“You’re…welcome?” Henry said. “Why…Why is Sammy on the ceiling?”

“Probably the toons’ doing.” Joey waved a hand dismissively. “Anyway, let’s get back to work.”

“SOMEONE GET ME DOWN!” 

“I mean, you want me to use my mop?” Wally asked. 

“…..That would be nice.”


	9. Chapter 9

[Two Story Starters](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/169413449760/two-story-starters)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> “While you were unable to deliver all of your employees to us, you have otherwise succeeded in fulfilling your part. Unfortunately for you, that means you have served your purpose. Now, we have no further need of you.”
> 
> […]
> 
> As Joey felt himself melt into the ink, he thought of [the named characters]. They had left before his experiments had begun, and thus had been fortunate enough to avoid this madness. He’d thought they were fools, but now he realized that he had been the fool.
> 
> _Making that pact without knowing all the details…without asking the right questions? I’m such an idiot…_  
>  ——————–  
>  “You needed us, because you didn’t have enough creativity of your own.” Henry took a step forward. “You couldn’t make anything original with the ink. Just copies of the people and things you knew, twisted by your dark desires.”
> 
> “He’s…right…”
> 
> Slowly, Bendy pulled himself up, no longer clutching his head.
> 
> […]
> 
> “You don’t own me. You never did. So get out of my mind and stay out!”

Featuring Alistair the Demon! He’s becoming a recurring character. 

* * *

He’d done it. He’d fulfilled his end of the contract and now his dreams were going to come true. There had been a few hitches, of course, but he was sure the demon could fix things. At present, the demon Alistair was looking over the contract they’d drawn up. 

“Is everything in order?” Joey asked. 

“While you were unable to deliver all of your employees to us, you have otherwise succeeded in fulfilling your part.” Alistair rolled up the contract and it vanished in a puff of smoke. “Unfortunately for you, that means you have served your purpose. Now, we have no further need of you.” 

“But you said I’d be famous!” Joey said. 

“And you will be. Just not the way you wanted.” Alistair smiled. “Everyone will know your name after this is over.”

“I…You aren’t really going to get rid of me, are you?” Joey could only stare at the demon in utter shock. “I thought we were partners.”

“Come now, Mr Drew, did you really think we’d be keeping you around? You should have read the contract more carefully. We never promised you’d come out of this unscathed.” The demon snapped his fingers and chains appeared on Joey, dragging him to the floor. 

“You lied to me!” Joey struggled against the chains. “You said my cartoons would live!”

“And they are living,” Alistair said. “Alice, Boris, the Butcher Gang. They’re all alive. And soon, Bendy will be too.” Joey’s eyes widened. Alistair was going to do to him what he’d done to his employees. 

“No, please, not like this!” Joey struggled harder. He didn’t want to lose himself in the ink. He’d sacrificed so many employees to it. He was sure it was full of screaming voices, all blended together. 

“Don’t worry.” Alistair cooed, lifting Joey’s head with his hand. “I’ll give you control over all the others. You can be king.” He hoisted Joey up by his chin and threw the man into the ink machine, slamming the panel shut behind him. This was it. This really was the end. 

“Goodbye, Mr Drew.” Alistair’s voice rang clearly in the inky abyss. “It was fun.” As Joey felt himself melt into the ink, he thought of Henry, Cordelia, Thomas, Grant, and Shawn. They had left before his experiments had begun and thus had been fortunate enough to avoid this madness. He’d thought they were fools, but now he realized that he had been the fool.

_Making that pact without knowing all the details…without asking the right questions? I’m such an idiot…_

Slowly, his consciousness began to fade. His mind blended with all the others trapped inside the ink. He knew he was someone, but he couldn’t remember who. He was…important, wasn’t he? Then the machine was turned on. He felt himself sliding out of the spout, forming into a puddle. Slowly, he rose up from the puddle, his form taking shape. A smiling man stood before him. 

“Hello.” The man said. “Do you know who you are?” The newly created creature shook his head. 

“Your name is Bendy the Dancing Demon.” The man said. “You’re very important here.”

Bendy…Yes, that name sounded familiar. But was it really his name? He quickly shook his head. No, it didn’t matter. He was Bendy now.  He had an identity and he needed to cling to it. 

“Wonderful.” The smiling man clapped his hands together. “Now let me tell you about everything that’s happened here…”

_._

_._

They’d done it. They’d finally found Joey. Henry felt much braver with the toons behind him, even if the majority of them were cowering in fear. Joey stood before them, ink dripping off his body as it fluctuated between something resembling Bendy and a more human form. 

“I suppose this isn’t going to be the peaceful talk I’d hoped for.” Joey sighed as if he weren’t an ink monstrosity.

“This was never going to end peacefully,” Henry said. “You knew that from the moment you started doing these experiments.” Joey watched him, a sort of calculating look in his eyes.

“You’re right.” He shrugged slightly. “Still, I had hoped you’d see things my way. Oh well. I don’t need you anyway.” He snapped his fingers and behind Henry, Bendy collapsed to his knees. He started screaming as he held his head, his form starting to shift.

“Ben!” Boris dropped to his knees, putting his hands on his friend’s shoulders. 

“What did you do to him?!” Alice demanded. 

“I control the ink, my dear Susie.” Joey smiled pleasantly. “Or have you forgotten what I did the last time you disobeyed me?” Alice’s eyes widened and she stumbled back, wrapping her arms around herself. 

“Alice, what’s he talking about?” Henry asked. 

“H-He can unmake us.” Alice murmured, her voice rising an octave. “He can send us back to the dark puddles.” Henry gritted his teeth. This was just like Joey. Destroy anything that didn’t fit his vision. But, come to think of it, so many things in the studio didn’t fit what Joey was apparently going for. Why was that? Joey wanted perfection, but he hadn’t been able to achieve it. Slowly, wheels began to turn in Henry’s mind. 

“Henry, what are you thinking?” Alice asked, suddenly very afraid. “Don’t do anything to upset him. Please, I don’t want to go back.”

“He might hurt you!” Boris chimed in. 

“He can’t hurt me,” Henry said. “He needs me.”

“No, I don’t.” Joey’s expression darkened. “If you won’t be on my side, I’ll just kill you!”

“You have no imagination. In order to really make the toons live, you need me.” Henry said. “Just like you needed me and the other animators while the studio was running.”

“Shut up!” Joey stamped his foot. 

“You needed us because you didn’t have enough creativity of your own.” Henry took a step forward. “You couldn’t make anything original with the ink. Just copies of the people and things you knew, twisted by your dark desires.”

“He’s…right…”

Slowly, Bendy pulled himself up, no longer clutching his head.

“Ben, are you alright?” Boris asked. 

“I’m fine.” Bendy smiled at his friend before turning to Joey. Joey’s face was a twisted mask of rage. 

“Obey me!” He roared. “You belong to me!”

“You don’t own me. You never did.” Bendy said. “So get out of my mind and stay out!” He morphed into his more monstrous form, stepping towards Joey. The former studio head stumbled back, his face paling. Searchers appeared from the puddles, as well as a familiar figure in a pair of ratty overalls, all advancing on Joey Drew.

“You have no power here anymore,” Henry said. “You’re through, Joey.”


	10. The Not So Dark Puddles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lighter take on the Dark Puddles

[Story Starter That Couldn’t Wait](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/169485857070/story-starter-that-couldnt-wait)

> (Hope this hasn’t come too soon.)  
> ————–  
> “How come none of the fun people ever come back to the studio? Not Wally, not Susie, not Shawn…”
> 
> “Thomas wasn’t a fun guy, and he hasn’t come back either.”
> 
> “You think any of them would join us if they ever do? Or would they become Toons?”
> 
> Ignoring the chattering voices, Sammy sighed internally. He’d tried so hard to gain Bendy’s approval, hoping the demon would restore his humanity. All he’d gotten was a return to the black depths.
> 
> He couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to be living ink. And yet so many of the others had embraced their new bodies, even actively trying to pull others into the ink to join them. Those few who hadn’t eventually emerged as living versions of the characters created by the studio.

Don’t worry about. Let’s see what I can do with this. 

* * *

Some days in the ink were better than others. Some days, everyone was screaming and suffering, trying desperately to regain any sense of self. Today was not one of those days. Today, they were all more or less together, reminiscing about the good days they’d had at the studio. Sammy would have been lying if he’d said he didn’t prefer these days to the others. It still didn’t erase the fact that he was literally living ink, but it made it slightly more bearable. 

“Sammy, why aren’t you talking to us?” One of the others asked. 

“I’m tired,” Sammy replied. “Don’t worry, I’m not snubbing your or anything.”

“I thought you still hated me.” Ah, right, this was that banjo player he’d yelled at. Drake.

“I don’t hate you, Drake.”

“You remember my name! Cool!”

Sammy honestly didn’t know if the banjo player was being sarcastic or not. He just sighed, sticking his head out of the puddle they were all collectively in.

“Where are you going?” The others asked. “Why don’t you stay and talk to us?”

“I want to go play some music.” He said. 

“I’ll come too!” Drake exited the puddle with him. Sammy just sighed again. Drake could only really manage a Searcher form while Sammy managed a more human appearance. He was still a featureless ink being, but at least he had legs. They managed to get to the music room and Sammy got them both banjos. 

“It’s amazing these things are still in tune,” Sammy muttered as he started plucking at the strings. 

“It’s magic. I won’t question it.” Drake shrugged. Sammy snorted, beginning to play a song. Soon, Drake joined him. The kid really wasn’t half bad. Thankfully he’d lost some of his cocky nature. That had been what had rubbed Sammy the wrong way. He hadn’t liked the way Drake had strutted around like he was the best banjo player in the world.

“It’s been forever since I played with someone,” Sammy said, unable to stop himself from smiling. “I wish it could have been Susie, though.”

“Yeah, me too.” Drake sighed dreamily. Sammy paused, then smacked the back of Drake’s head. 

“Yeah, I probably deserved that.” Drake laughed. A few more Searchers popped up, starting to applaud. 

“Were you all listening the whole time?” Sammy asked. 

“Kiiinda.” 

“I mean, you guys said you wanted to play and we wanted to hear.”

“You still got it, Sammy!”

“You’re all terrible,” Sammy said. 

“You’re smiling, aren’t you?” Drake elbowed him roughly where his ribs might have been. Sammy pushed the banjo player over. Alright, maybe this wasn’t so bad. It was almost like old times.


	11. Chapter 11

[Quote Prompts & a Suggestion](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/169644971325/quote-prompts-a-suggestion)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“It’s true that you’re the only one who ever came back, but that was because Joey drove everyone else away!” Bendy’s eyes welled up with tears. “You’re not my enemy. It was him all along.”  
> -“Jeez, Susie. Next time, warn a guy before you make the elevator drop that fast. I know he was listening, but you nearly gave me a heart attack with that stunt.”
> 
> Suggestion: A fic or two set in one or more of my AUs (you can pick which ones)

Okay, the fic in your AU is in a different post.

* * *

Bendy had finally managed to corner Henry. He was between floors with no Little Miracle Stations in sight. Henry was pressed up against a wall as the demon advanced on him. The old animator gritted his teeth. He didn’t want this to be where it ended. 

“I finally have you, traitor,” Bendy growled, his voice deep and distorted. 

“You don’t have to do this,” Henry said. “I’m not your enemy.”

“You left us!” Bendy stamped his foot. “You left all of us!”

“I know.” Henry nodded, putting his hands up. “And it was wrong of me to do that. But I came back to help.”

“Liar!” Bendy said, sounding very much like a petulant child. 

“I’m here because I want to help all of you.” Henry kept his voice calm. “I want to fix Joey’s mistakes.” Bendy hesitated, his form wavering. 

“You…You really want to help?” He asked, his voice small. 

“Yes.” Henry smiled and spread his arms wide. “What Joey did to you, to all of you, wasn’t right. Someone needs to fix things.” Bendy’s form shrunk until he resembled the little devil darling that Henry knew and loved. 

“Joey said you were a traitor.” He said. “He said you didn’t care about any of us.”

“Joey has a tendency to say that about people who go against him.” Henry’s expression darkened. “He drives away everyone who doesn’t agree with him.”

“It’s true that you’re the only one who ever came back, but that was because Joey drove everyone else away!” Bendy’s eyes welled up with tears. “You’re not my enemy. It was him all along.” Henry nodded and knelt down, opening his arms. Bendy launched himself into Henry’s open arms and started to cry. 

“I’ll get you out, buddy.” Henry said, patting the little demon’s back. “I’ll get you all out.”

.

.

Henry groaned as he and Boris exited the elevator. 

“Jeez, Susie. Next time, warn a guy before you make the elevator drop that fast. I know he was listening, but you nearly gave me a heart attack with that stunt.” He said, rubbing his back. 

“Sorry.” ‘Alice’ walked over to help Boris out of the elevator. “Are you both alright?” Boris gave her a thumbs up. Henry looked around. 

“Where are we?” He asked. 

“We’re on the lower levels,” Alice explained. “He doesn’t have influence this far down, so you two should be safe.”

“I don’t need to be safe, though, I need to save everyone,” Henry said.

“You need to save your strength.” Alice touched his arm. “He almost caught you on the upper floors. Rest for a while. None of us are going anywhere.” Henry hesitated, but in the end, let Alice drag him to rest in another safe room. Boris followed behind. They set up in the safehouse and Alice started making some bacon soup. It was all they had, really. 

“Did you see Norman?” Alice asked as she stirred the soup. 

“…I did.” Henry nodded. “Joey did that to him, didn’t he?”

“He did.” Alice pursed her lips. “He did this to all of us.” Boris whimpered, nuzzling up to Henry. Henry patted the cartoon wolf’s head. 

“It’s okay, buddy.” He said. “We’re going to be alright.” 

“I mean, I don’t know if anyone will be alright if we get out.” Alice said. “We’re all going to be feeling the effects of this for a long time.”

“That’s…That’s true.” Henry sighed. “But we’ll all do it together.” Alice smiled softly back at him. 

“You’re sweet, Henry.” She said. She didn’t want to tell him that he was being naive, that it wouldn’t be easy for them to get out. He knew that already, she was sure. She wanted to believe he really could do this. She wanted to believe he could save them. But she didn’t know if any of it was actually possible. Joey had done a lot of damage, damage it would be difficult to undo.


	12. Song Prompts

[Song Prompts About the Girls](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/169834603620/song-prompts-about-the-girls)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -Judas (Alice and/or Allison) or Born This Way (Susie)  
> -Beautiful by Christina Perry (Alice)  
> -Dancing Queen (all)
> 
> You don’t have to do all of them, but let me know if you leave any out.

I think I’ll just do the Allison one since she doesn’t get enough attention.

* * *

_When he comes to me I am ready_  
I’ll wash his feet with my hair if he needs  
Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain  
Even after three times he betrays me 

It had been a mistake to love Joey Drew. Allison knew that now. Everyone in her life had told her not to trust Joey Drew, but she’d done so anyway. He’d been so kind, so charming. The sweet lies that dripped from his tongue were so much easier for her to swallow than the harsh truths of the world. The truth that the world was on the brink of war and the country was in shambles. She’d been so young, so naive.  She shouldn’t have trusted a word he’d told her. Still, she’d fallen and she’d fallen hard. She would have done anything for Joey Drew, and that had been what he’d been counting on. Trapped inside the twisted form of Alice Angel, Allison reflected on the love that had brought her to this point.

_I couldn’t love a man so purely_  
Even prophets forgave his crooked way  
I’ve learned love is like a brick you can  
Build a house or sink a dead body

Joey Drew was the fairytale prince Allison had always dreamed of. He was handsome, charismatic, and always kind to her. She’d just been an intern when he’d offered her the job of Alice’s voice actress. Allison had worshipped the ground Susie Campbell walked on, wanting nothing more than to be just like the older woman. When Joey had said that Allison could be Alice’s voice actress, she’d instantly jumped at the chance. After that, Joey swept her off her feet, treating her like a princess. He’d wined and dined her, gave her a raise, even called her Alice. Allison had never been treated so well in her life. Perhaps that was why she had fallen so hard for Joey. 

The other members of the studio had found out rather quickly that Allison was Joey’s new girlfriend. No one had initially said anything, but Sammy had taken her aside one day and told her that she should cut ties with the studio and run. 

“Joey would never hurt me.” She’d said. Susie had reacted in a less compassionate way. She’d come after Allison as though it was the girl’s fault. Joey had protected Allison. Allison wondered if this was what it felt like to be in love. She dreamed of possibly marrying him someday. That was what one was supposed to when they were in love, right? They’d get married someday and maybe have kids.

The first few months really had been a dream. She’d thought nothing could possibly go wrong. Then he started acting…strangely. He’d started asking her questions that made her uncomfortable, missing their dinner dates, and spending a lot of time in his office. Every time, she forgave him. That was what you did when you wanted to have a good relationship, wasn’t it? She wanted the relationship to work, more than anything. But Joey had had different ideas for where their relationship was going to go.

_I wanna love you,_  
But something’s pulling me away from you  
Jesus is my virtue,  
Judas is the demon I cling to  
I cling to

When people had started disappearing, that was when Allison became afraid. More than anything, she was afraid because she knew Joey was behind it. Norman had been the first to disappear, shortly after Joey had made comments about how the projectionist needed to keep his nose out of other people’s business. Then some of the interns started vanishing. She knew she had to get out, somehow. But…every time she was about to bolt, she looked into Joey’s eyes and convinced herself to stay. He couldn’t possibly be behind the disappearances. She should have run. She should have listened. She came into the studio one day and was immediately knocked out. When she woke up, she was tied to a table next to Susie. Susie was considerably calmer than Allison was, not screaming nor crying as Joey turned on the ink machine. Then they were together, two minds in one body. They were Alice Angel. And they had to be perfect. Allison shrunk away, desperate to get away from Susie’s wrathful voice and cruel actions. She wished she’d listened to Sammy. He’d been right all along.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much angst. And then, at the end, everyone is gay.

[You know what time it is…](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/169950128955/you-know-what-time-it-is)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> Dropping the doll to the floor, Alice buried her face in her hands, starting to sob. As Susie gently pulled the inky woman into a hug, Henry grabbed the doll from the floor and marched over to Sammy.
> 
> “Look. At This.”
> 
> He shoved the doll into the man’s face. To his horror, the former music director saw that it had been defaced in a way that matched Alice’s face almost exactly.
> 
> “This is how Alice sees herself. Self-loathing. Joey made her feel like she was worthless, ugly, an abomination.”
> 
> Bendy nodded in agreement. “After all Joey did to us, do you still think he’s worthy of your devotion?”
> 
> Nearby, Shawn and Thomas looked just as horrified, the toymaker clutching Edgar to his chest like a teddy bear as the spider covered his eyes.
> 
> “Dear God…”  
> —————-  
>  _At least my employees…and the Toons…are all safe. At least I’m the only one…who made a contract._
> 
> With the last of his willpower, Joey dipped his hand into a pool of ink and wrote  _Don’t Trust the Incubator_  on the wall. Then, he collapsed to the floor as his Soul Gem shattered, the emerging Warlock screaming with his voice.
> 
> From a short distance away, the Incubator watched as the studio vanished, being sucked into and merging with the Warlock’s barrier. As soon as it was gone, it turned and vanished into the night.  
> —————-  
> “Look at me, look at me.” Allison grabbed the man’s arm. “Gay. No, no, don’t say anything, just shut up and listen. You like other guys. You’re so gay, you probably have rainbows for blood. When the doctor listens to your heart, he hears guys singing showtunes. If your eyes were any more glued to Thomas’s ass, they could be in a common law marriage. If you drooled over Shawn any more when he bends over, the toy department would be flooded. You. Are. Gay!”

Oh boy. These are a doozy. I’ll do my best!

* * *

Henry had done it. He’d managed to save everyone, separating the toons from the humans with the help of Bendy. Everyone was alright, except Sammy. It seemed he couldn’t be turned back to normal until he’d let go of his crazed devotion to Bendy. Only the presence of Susie had been enough to keep the crazed music director in the vicinity. They were trying to figure out how to snap him out of it. 

“Maybe he’s too far gone,” Wally said. “Maybe we should just leave ‘em.”

“No,” Henry said firmly. “He’s one of us and I’m not going to abandon him.”

“You always were a bit of a softie.” Shawn smiled weakly. Thomas swatted the back of his head, which made the toymaker (and Edgar in turn) glare at Thomas. Grant just kept trying to get the ink off of his glasses. 

“I’ll never be able to see clearly again.” He muttered. 

“Is there a purpose to your chattering?” Sammy asked. “Or can I go? I have things to do.” 

“You’re not going anywhere.” Susie gave him a pointed look. Allison was in the corner with Bendy and Boris, comforting a shaking Alice. Alice was still a little shaken up from being separated from Allison and Susie. She was still processing all the things the three of them had done in the name of Alice Angel.

“I have to worship my lord. I have to show him my devotion.” Sammy said.  

“Joey isn’t worthy of anyone’s devotion,” Thomas said, setting his face in a stony mask. After all, it wasn’t Joey who had saved them. It had been Henry. Henry had saved them. He’d made them human again. Sammy said nothing, folding his arms. It was then that Allison noticed Alice was clutching a doll to her chest. 

“Hey, what do you have there?” She asked. Alice clutched the doll closer to her chest. 

“Sweetie, would you mind showing us your doll?” Susie asked, her voice soft and soothing. Alice held it out in front of her, her lip beginning to quiver. Her breath caught in her throat. Dropping the doll to the floor, Alice buried her face in her hands, starting to sob. As Susie gently pulled the inky woman into a hug, Henry grabbed the doll from the floor and marched over to Sammy.

“Look. At This.”

He shoved the doll into the man’s face. To his horror, the former music director saw that it had been defaced in a way that matched Alice’s face almost exactly.

“This is how Alice sees herself. Self-loathing. Joey made her feel like she was worthless, ugly, an abomination.”

Bendy nodded in agreement. “After all Joey did to us, do you still think he’s worthy of your devotion?”

Nearby, Shawn and Thomas looked just as horrified, the toymaker clutching Edgar to his chest like a teddy bear as the spider covered his eyes.

“Dear God…”

Sammy’s eyes widened, and they could all see the horror in his eyes as well. Sammy started to mutter to himself, closing his eyes and holding his head. 

“Joey doesn’t deserve your devotion.” Henry said. “He destroyed your lives and he needs to pay for it.” Sammy stopped muttering, looking up at Henry. 

“I’m going to fucking kill him.” The former music director growled. 

“That’s the spirit!” Wally grinned. “We can all take turns punching him!”

“I’ll show him how hard a girl can hit.” Susie murmured, holding Alice closer. 

.

.

Joey Drew had made a mistake. He should have known that when the little cat/bunny creature had come to him with the deal it was too good to be true. Henry had always told him he was too trusting. But he’d wanted so badly to make his creations live. He loved them so much. He wanted to give them the kind of life they’d never see on a page. So he’d taken the creature’s deal. He’d become a magical boy in order to give his toons life. He’d been so happy when he’d seen them for the first time. Boris, Bendy, and Alice, all together and all  _alive_! Really alive!

“How did you do this?” Henry asked him. 

“It’s a secret,” Joey told him with a wink. He tried to keep his soul gem hidden. Henry wasn’t a magical boy himself, but he knew his friend had had a few run-ins with Kyuubey and others like him. For the first few months, everything was alright. The toons lived and the ink machine wasn’t as necessary as it had been before. A little bit of tinkering allowed it run more smoothly and cut down on the amount of ink based accidents. People were happy. Joey fulfilled his end of the deal to the best of his ability, hunting witches along with magical girls and boys from the area. It was from them that he learned of the corruption that plagued magical girls and boys. He’d seen the blackness creeping up in his soul gem, but he hadn’t understood why it was happening. By the time the others told him, it was too late for him. 

“You didn’t tell me this would happen!” He yelled when Kyuubey came to see him. “You didn’t tell me  _I’d_ turn into a witch!”

“That’s the way the cycle works.” Kyuubey stared at him with dead eyes, its tail swishing back and forth. “If you had reservations, you should have asked more questions.” Joey felt his face heating up. His hands shook at his sides. He could lose everything. God, he had been a fool.

“Getting upset will only make it go faster,” Kyuubey said. 

“Get out,” Joey slammed his fist on his desk. “Now. Before I kill you.”

“That’s cute,” Kyuubey said. “You couldn’t, even if you tried.” Then it disappeared. Joey collapsed into his chair. He had to do something. He had to get everyone away from him. So he started to act erratically, tinkered with the ink machine so it would spit out more and more ink in an attempt to get people to quit. And it did. A lot of the interns and lesser animators came into his office and very nicely quit. But still, some hung on. The core team that had started the studio with him stayed, as well as those who had nowhere else to go. Sammy, Henry, Wally, Susie, Grant. Thomas had been out the door the second the ink started flooding. Shawn had been next after that, and after that, it had been Allison. The toons were obviously scared by his behaviour. He hated it. He really did, but he had to make sure they were safe. Henry signed up to go to war, and Joey had given him every reason to never come back to the studio. It hurt him to yell at his friend and call him a traitor, but he needed Henry to be safe. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Sammy had asked after Henry left. “He’s your best friend.” Joey hadn’t even said anything in return. He broke down in tears, burying his head in his hands. After that, Henry’s wife came and collected the toons. 

“We don’t trust you with them anymore.” Linda had said. He had put on a show of trying to fight, but he was glad to see them taken to a safe place. Once Henry was gone, the others soon followed. Sammy and Susie left after Susie nearly got ink poisoning. Wally left after he broke his leg slipping on ink. Then it was just Grant and Joey. Grant, being the professional he was, gave a two weeks notice. 

“I know what you’re doing,” Grant said when he put his notice on Joey’s desk. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Joey said. “I’m not doing anything.” 

“Alright, sir.” Then Grant walked out. It hurt, seeing everything he’d worked for crumble before him at his own hands. It was necessary, though. Everyone was safe. It was just in time, as well. The corruption of his soul gem was almost complete. He was almost a witch. Alone in the studio, he smiled softly to himself. 

_At least my employees…and the Toons…are all safe. At least I’m the only one…who made a contract._

With the last of his willpower, Joey dipped his hand into a pool of ink and wrote  _Don’t Trust the Incubator_  on the wall. Then, he collapsed to the floor as his Soul Gem shattered, the emerging Warlock screaming with his voice.

From a short distance away, the Incubator watched as the studio vanished, being sucked into and merging with the Warlock’s barrier. As soon as it was gone, it turned and vanished into the night.

.

.

Wally was aggressively cleaning. He’d had a bit of a bad day. And it all came down to him breaking up with his girlfriend of a few months. She’d been the latest in a long line of women he’d tried to force himself to love, with little success. His latest girlfriend had slapped him, demanding to know what she’d done wrong. As usual, she’d loved him more than he’d loved her. He’d apologized, of course, but it hadn’t been enough. It was never enough. She’d dumped her coffee on him too. So he’d come to work late and covered in coffee. Sammy had loaned him some clothes and he’d gotten on with his day. He just wanted to forget about it. But Allison wasn’t going to let him. 

“What’s wrong?” She cornered him after lunch break as he went down to clean on floor 9. 

“What’re you talking about?” He tried to move past her. “I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.” 

“You came in covered in coffee,” Allison said flatly. “So, what happened?” Wally pressed his back against the wall, hunching his shoulders. 

“I broke up with my girlfriend, that’s all.” He said. “She didn’t take it well.”

“Wally, why do you keep dating women?” Allison asked. “You’re gay.”

“Wha- No I’m not!” He sputtered, trying to push her aside. “Just lemme alone, Alli!”

“Look at me, look at me.” Allison grabbed the man’s arm. “Gay. No, no, don’t say anything, just shut up and listen. You like other guys. You’re so gay, you probably have rainbows for blood. When the doctor listens to your heart, he hears guys singing show tunes. If your eyes were any more glued to Thomas’s ass, they could be in a common law marriage. If you drooled over Shawn any more when he bends over, the toy department would be flooded. You. Are. Gay!”

“I’m not,” Wally said weakly.  

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Allison said. “I’m gay too, y’know.”

“You…You are?” Wally’s eyes widened slightly.

“Well, yeah.” Allison gave him a big smile. “Susie and I are going out. You didn’t know?” Wally groaned, burying his face in his hands. Looking back, it was blatantly obvious that the two women were dating. He felt so stupid for not seeing it sooner. 

“Not to mention, Sammy’s dating Norman and Joey and Henry are planning when to have their wedding.” Allison continued, counting on her fingers. “I think Thomas might be getting up the courage to ask Grant out too. Anyway, no one cares about your preferences.” Wally groaned louder. He hadn’t noticed any of this. Hell, he’d thought Sammy and Susie were dating. 

“You’re not lying, right?” He said. “Cause I swear I thought Sammy and Susie were a couple.”

“I wouldn’t lie to you about this, Wally.” Allison let go of his arm. “I just want you to be happy.” 

“More like you like sticking your nose in other people’s business,” Wally said, but there was no malice behind his words. 

“I am a little nosy,” Allison admitted with a little smile. “And I have it on good authority that a certain toymaker thinks you’re cute~” 

“Wha- Seriously?” Wally could feel his face starting to heat up. “But he’s way out of my league! He’d never stoop to dating a janitor!”

“That’s not what I heard~” Allison said, starting to walk away. 

“Alli! You can’t just tease me like that!” Wally ran after her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluffy prompts

[I know it’s a little early, but I need something less angsty…](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/170045359595/i-know-its-a-little-early-but-i-need-something)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“Believe me, Suz–even if that thing was the real Alice Angel, I’d take you over her any day.”
> 
> -“Okay, grab the camera. I’m comin’ up!”
> 
> Running forward, Sammy jumped up, only to land flat on his stomach.
> 
> “God damnit!”
> 
> Wally laughed, which earned him a smack from Susie.
> 
> “It’s just like with anything else you move. You’re essentially using telekinesis on yourself. Here, let me show you.”
> 
> (This one was somewhat inspired by Chronicle.)
> 
> -The almost required Sailor Moon AU.

I’m sorry if you’ve had a bad day. I’m glad to cheer you up. :D

* * *

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“If I’m being honest, no. This is a terrible idea.”

Susie gave her boyfriend a pointed look. The two of them were on their way back to the studio they’d worked at so many years ago. They’d both received letters from Joey asking them to come back. After some debate, they’d decided on going. 

“Can’t you be at least a little comforting?” Susie said. 

“I’m sorry.” He looked over at her. “I just…I don’t like this. You remember what Joey was like before we left.” Susie smiled softly, reaching out to touch his shoulder. 

“You don’t have to be worried about me.” She assured him. “I can take care of myself.”

“I love you, I’m going to worry about you no matter what.” He said, laughing. Susie laughed as well, kissing his cheek. 

“You’re such a gentleman.”

They reached the studio a few minutes later. Neither was too excited about going into the studio, but they were going anyway. They had to figure out what was going on with Joey. So they went in. They hadn’t been expecting to find a decrepit studio covered with ink. 

“Should we leave?” Sammy asked. 

“No. I want to know why he called us back.” Susie pressed onwards. Sammy sighed and followed. Leave it to Susie to be headstrong. It was something he’d always loved about her. He couldn’t help but smile as he fell into step beside her. 

“What are you smiling about?” Susie asked, glancing at him. 

“I just love you, that’s all.” He said, kissing her cheek. Susie blushed and giggled, pushing him nervously away. They ran into some trouble trying to find Joey, which drove them deeper into the studio. It was a little difficult navigating their former workplace. A lot of entrances were either boarded up or flooded. But they managed nonetheless.  

“I wonder what happened here,” Sammy grunted as he hauled up the shutter blocking their path. 

“Knowing Joey, nothing good.” Susie tried to force a laugh, but she was honestly too tired for that. She was covered in ink and they’d been walking for what felt like hours. Had the studio always been this big? They continued on until they reached Shawn’s former workshop. 

“Ooh, I didn’t think there’d still be so many toys.” Susie exclaimed, picking a few up. Sammy hung to the side and looked around. It looked about the same it always had. Shawn had never been particularly tidy when it came to his workstation. Although he’d never have left all the plushes on the floor. Shawn valued his work too much for that. 

“I always wanted one of these.” Susie held an Alice Angel plush to her chest. “I thought it might be weird, though.”

“It’s not weird.” Sammy said, shrugging. “If you want one, take it.” Susie grinned at him, hugging the Alice Angel plush. It let out a squeak. From there, they came into the little room that Joey had wanted to use for Alice Angel meet and greets. The lights dimmed and the prerecorded song played. Susie hummed along happily. A spotlight shone on the door to the backstage area. 

“I used to dress up as her to meet kids. Do you remember that?” Susie asked, smiling wistfully. 

“Yeah. They were always so happy.” Sammy put an arm around her and pulled her close. Suddenly someone slammed their hands against the window, catching the couple off guard. It was a woman who resembled Alice Angel, aside from her deformed face. 

“I’M ALICE ANGEL!” She screamed, slamming her fists against the glass. Then the lights went out, leaving them all in darkness. 

“I see you there.” The woman’s voice echoed through the darkness. “New flies in my endless web. Come along now. Let’s see if you’re worthy to walk with angels.” The lights came back on, revealing the glass had been shattered. 

“What the everloving fuck was that?” Sammy muttered. 

“I-Is…W-Was that…Alice?” Susie stammered. “It couldn’t be, right? Sh-she’s just a cartoon character. She can’t be real. Joey couldn’t have-”

“Calm down,” Sammy said. “We’ll figure this out, alright?” Susie nodded slowly, beginning to fidget with the Alice doll.

“Susie, it’s going to be okay,” Sammy assured her. Susie just nodded again, starting off down the hallway. Sammy followed, making sure to stay close to Susie. They came to an elevator and the voice of “Alice” ordered them to take it down to floor 9. 

“What if she really is Alice?” Susie whispered as they began to descend. “What if she hates me? What if she thinks I left her? What-”

“You didn’t leave because you wanted to.” Sammy put a hand on her shoulder. “Joey fired you.”

“But I could have fought it!”

“You know how Joey is. There was nothing we could have done.”

The rest of the ride was quiet. When they got out, they were greeted by the same woman they’d seen upstairs. 

“You should feel honoured.” The woman said. “I seldom leave my sanctuary.” Susie’s breath caught in her throat. 

“What do you want?” Sammy asked, standing protectively in front of Susie.

“I want you.” The woman, “Alice”, stepped forward. She reached out for Sammy, but he backed up.

“Don’t be afraid,” Alice said. “I wouldn’t hurt you. I would never hurt you.” She looked over his shoulder at Susie. “ _Her_  on the other hand…”

“Over my dead body,” Sammy growled. Alice tilted her head to the side. 

“Why are you protecting her?” She asked. “Don’t you remember how she yelled at you? How she called you a traitor?”

“Of course I remember,” Sammy said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m just going to abandon her because she had a bad day.”

“But I could be so much better.” Alice strode forward, placing her hands on Sammy’s chest. “I would never curse you or hurt you. I would be the best lover you could ever ask for.” Sammy pushed her away and Alice looked hurt. 

“Don’t you love me?” She asked. “I thought you said I’d be as popular as Bendy. I’m your favourite.” 

“Where did you even get that idea?” Sammy sputtered. “You weren’t even real when I was here.”

“I…I think that’s Allison,” Susie whispered. 

“I was Allison. But now I’m Alice.” Alice smiled sweetly. Sammy groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t surprised, honestly. It seemed like something that Joey would fucking do.

“Okay, Alli,” Sammy said. “I’m not interested in you. I never was, and I never will be. You’re a nice kid, but you’re just a kid.” Alice’s face twisted in rage and she stamped her foot. 

“Why?!” She screeched. “Whywhywhywhywhy?! I’m so much better than she is! Why do you keep going back to her?!” Before Sammy could answer, the girl turned and ran. Susie, throughout all this, had stood stock still. She hadn’t been able to say a word. Allison had become a monster and it was all Susie’s fault. She started to cry. Sammy quickly turned around and pulled her into his arms. 

“Hey, it’s okay.” He said, stroking her hair. 

“Y-You deserve so much better than me!” She sobbed. “I’m an awful person! You deserve Alice!”

“Believe me, Suz–even if that thing was the real Alice Angel, I’d take you over her any day.” Sammy lifted her face so her eyes met his. “Yes, we have problems sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade you for the world. I love you, Susie Campbell.” 

“Are you sure?” Susie asked, whimpering a little. 

“Yes. I’m sure.” Sammy kissed her head. “Now let’s get out of here.”

.

.

Somehow, the studio employees had gained superpowers. Well, a singular superpower. The ink had managed to give them telekinesis. They were taking it better than Joey had expected. Susie was the one who took to it the best, managing to levitate other people, large objects, herself. She’d started teaching other people as well. The latest thing that was seen in the studio was people trying to fly. Sammy especially wanted to learn how to do it. It was apparently a dream of his. One he’d had since he was a child. That was what he was doing in the break room that day, along with Norman, Wally, and Susie. 

“Okay, grab the camera. I’m comin’ up!”

Running forward, Sammy jumped up, only to land flat on his stomach.

“Goddamnit!”

Wally laughed, which earned him a smack from Susie.

“It’s just like with anything else you move. You’re essentially using telekinesis on yourself. Here, let me show you.”

She stood up and closed her eyes, focusing her power on lifting herself off the ground. Sammy watched intently as she rose off the floor. 

“You need to focus.” She said.

“C’mon, even I can fly at this point.” Wally slapped Sammy’s back. Sammy gave him the dirtiest look anyone had ever seen him give anyone. Wally put his hands up and backed away. Norman snorted, the camera shaking a bit. Susie let herself down. 

“Now you try, Sammy.” She patted his shoulder as she walked back over. Sammy nodded and closed his eyes. Just focus. He blocked out everything, focusing on making himself rise off the ground. His feet began to leave the ground, slowly but surely. Susie gasped and clapped her hands.

“Sammy, you’re doing it!” She squealed. 

“I am?” Sammy opened one eye, falling to the ground in a heap. 

“Well, you were doing it for a second there,” Wally said. 

“I’m so proud of you!” Susie ran over and threw her arms around Sammy. “You did it!”

“T-Thanks.” Sammy smiled shakily. By the end of the week, he was able to do it on his own. Which led to him and Wally often being seen chasing each other across the ceilings. 

.

.

So, I ended up getting really into this. I even did a picture on a doll creating site! Not all of them are present, but I thought up who could be who.  This will get its own post because I am 100% into it. 

Here's the doll creator [X](http://www.dolldivine.com/sailor-moon-senshi-maker.php)

Susie: Sailor Venus

Norman: Sailor Mercury

Sammy: Sailor Mars

Henry: Sailor Moon

Wally: Sailor Jupiter

Allison: Sailor Saturn

Joey: Tuxedo Mask

Alice: Chibi Usa

Bendy: Luna

Boris: Artemis

Thomas: Sailor Neptune

Grant: Sailor Uranus

Shawn: Sailor Pluto


	15. Bendy Sailor Scouts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite studio crew become sailor scouts!

So, [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA) requested a Sailor Moon AU and I aim to deliver. First up, here’s the cast list, not all of whom will be featured in the story.

Susie: Sailor Venus

Norman: Sailor Mercury

Sammy: Sailor Mars

Henry: Sailor Moon

Wally: Sailor Jupiter

Allison: Sailor Saturn

Joey: Tuxedo Mask

Alice: Chibi Usa

Bendy: Luna

Boris: Artemis

Thomas: Sailor Neptune

Grant: Sailor Uranus

Shawn: Sailor Pluto

* * *

A few months ago, Henry had been an ordinary teenager. One with slightly absent parents, but normal nonetheless. Now he was fighting monsters with his best friends. He’d grown up reading about superheroes, never expecting to become one himself. It had been a little scary at first, but he was really starting to enjoy it now. He liked helping people like this. And, honestly, the people who came after him and his friends were becoming more and more ridiculous. Their latest foe looked to be made out of a vacuum cleaner. 

“I think they’re starting to run out of ideas.” Henry sighed as they faced off against the creature. 

“I mean, it still stole a pure heart, so it’s not completely useless.” Susie pointed out. 

“Let’s kick its ass!” Wally cracked his knuckles. “I’ve always wanted to beat up a machine!”

“Your lifelong dream is to beat up a vacuum cleaner.” Sammy deadpanned. “Wow.”

“Hey! That’s not what I meant!”

“Jupiter, Mars, we’re in the middle of battle.” Norman chided them. “Save the infighting for afterwards.”

“Shit! Here it comes!”  Susie yelled. The fight wasn’t too difficult. The monster was made out of a vacuum cleaner after all. But, as usual, the one to land the finishing blow was the mysterious Tuxedo Mask. He appeared out of nowhere and finished the monster off before landing in front of the Sailor Scouts. 

“We really must stop meeting like this.” He winked at Henry. “It’s like you’re looking for trouble.”

“Thank you for your…help,” Henry said slowly. “But, uh, this is kinda my job? Saving the world and all that. I’m not looking for trouble.”

“We kinda are,” Wally said, only to be elbowed in the ribs by Sammy. This lead to the two of them yelling and slapping at each other. Henry looked helplessly at Norman, who got in the middle of the two fighting boys. With Susie’s help, of course.

“Anyway, thanks,” Henry turned back to Tuxedo Mask. “Would be nice if you’d show up sooner. Y’know, pull your weight.” 

“That would take away from my mystery.” Tuxedo Mask said. “But I’ll do my best. Any chance to see you is a chance I’ll gladly take.” Then he kissed Henry’s hand and vanished. Henry could only stare at the spot where Tuxedo Mask had been. The guy was infuriating, but Henry couldn’t help but think Tuxedo Mask was pretty much the coolest. 

“Oooh, you got it bad, kiddo.” Bendy hopped up on the fence beside the teenager. 

“Shut up,” Henry muttered, trying to push the cat away. “I don’t wanna talk about it.” 

“Ben, you shouldn’t tease him.” Boris said from the grass below.

“Oh my god, you’re blushing!” Susie squealed upon seeing Henry’s face. “Everyone, he’s blushing!”

“Our fearless leader is in love.” Norman smiled softly at Henry, who went even redder. Wally and Sammy paused in their fighting to grin at Henry before starting to sing. 

“Moon and Mask sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G~”

“You’re both in high school!” Henry snapped. 

“What’s your point?” Wally asked. 

Henry groaned. “Ugh. Whatever. I should get home.”

“Aren’t we going to my house to study?” Norman asked. “Exams are coming up pretty soon and I have a feeling some of you might be slacking.” He looked directly at Susie and Wally, both of whom immediately looked away and began whistling.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Henry admitted. “Let’s get going.” They ducked into an alley to de-transform and headed toward Norman’s house. Bendy took his place on Henry’s shoulders, curled around his human’s neck like a scarf. Boris rode in Sammy’s back. Boris liked it in the bag. Bags were hugs that took you places.

“So, how are things with you and Joey going?” Sammy asked as they walked. “You still hate his guts?”

“He’s really sweet,” Susie said. “I don’t get why you don’t like him.”

“I like him alright.” Henry insisted. “He’s just…weird, y’know? I caught him doing black magic in the janitor’s closet once!”

“For real?” Wally’s eyes widened slightly. “I thought those were just rumours!”

“He has a black magic book and everything! I just…I don’t know. It’s too weird for me.” Henry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

“You do realize that we _live_ weirder, right?” Norman said. “You’re a prince from the moon and you fight monsters who want to steal people’s hearts. We are weirder than black magic.” The group was silent for a few moments. 

“Well, he’s not wrong.” 

“Shut up, Wally!”

“I think you should give him a chance.” Bendy began to knead Henry’s collar with his paws. 

“….I’m not gonna marry him in the future or something, am I?” Henry looked suspiciously down at the cat. Bendy just smiled. Henry groaned louder. 

“Congrats.” Sammy patted Henry’s back. 

“You’re all terrible, I swear.”


	16. Chapter 16

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“Critical failure! Bendy ignores your offering and attacks you instead! Roll to see if you survive!”  
> -“Alice Angel was a character I used to provide the voice for. She meant a lot to me, and I was really upset when my old boss decided someone else should voice her instead.  
> (…)  
> “That’s why I named you after her.”  
> -“I told you letting him watch Power Rangers was a bad idea.”

Okay, the first one gets its own post because I just had an amazing idea. Also, I’ve never watched Power Rangers so…I’ll do my best. ^^”

* * *

“Mommy, who’s Alice Angel?” 

Susie looked down at her 6-year-old daughter, Alice. It had been years since she’d left Joey Drew Studios, but she’d found that she could never really escape it. No matter what she did, her past always seemed to haunt her. 

“That’s a name I haven’t thought about in a long time.” She said, pulling her daughter into her lap. “What made you ask about that, honey?”

“A teacher at school asked me if you were the one who was Alice Angel,” Alice said, folding her hands primly in her lap. “I told her I didn’t know and she seemed disappointed.” Susie had to compose herself before speaking. The memory of losing the voice role still stung. 

“Alice Angel was a character I used to provide the voice for.” She explained. “She meant a lot to me, and I was really upset when my old boss decided someone else should voice her instead.”

“Why did you get so upset, Mommy?” Alice asked. She really was the spitting image of Alice Angel, with long dark hair and big brown eyes. Susie smiled softly, running her fingers through her daughter’s hair. 

“I felt like she was a part of me,” Susie said. “That’s why I named you after her.”

“I’m named after a cartoon character?” Alice frowned slightly. 

“A very important cartoon character.”

“Was she interesting?” Alice tilted her head to the side. 

“I think she was.” Susie could tell she was losing Alice a little. She shouldn’t have been surprised. It had been years since the Bendy cartoons had been relevant. Alice liked other cartoons, like Scooby Doo.

“I wanna draw her,” Alice said, nodding definitively. 

“Really?” Susie’s eyes widened. Well, she hadn’t expected that. Alice nodded again, getting up and walking away. Susie stared after her. Once her daughter was gone, she got up and went to her dresser, withdrawing a picture from under her clothing. She stared wistfully down at the picture of her and the other members of the Joey Drew Studio crew. 

“Hey, are you alright?” She turned around to see Sammy standing in the doorway. 

“I’m fine.” She assured him, putting the picture back and going over to hug him. He smiled gently and patted her back.

“Reminiscing, huh?”

“Mm-hm.” Susie nodded, burying her face in his chest. “Alice asked about Alice Angel today, and it reminded me of working in the studio.”

“It was certainly an experience.” Sammy laughed. 

“Daddy!” Alice ran up and latched onto her father’s leg. “You’re home!”

“Hello, munchkin.” He disentangled himself from Susie and picked Alice up. “I hear you learned about your mother’s old job today.”

“Can you help me draw Alice Angel?” Alice asked. 

“I’m no artist, but I’ll do my best,” Sammy said, kissing her head and setting her down. “Why don’t you go get your supplies?” Alice nodded and ran off to gather her art supplies. Sammy gave Susie a quick kiss and went to go follow their daughter. Susie watched them go. She was glad they’d gotten out. She loved her life. She loved her family. She wouldn’t trade it for the world.

.

.

Wally had, despite everyone’s warnings, shown Bendy Power Rangers. 

“It’s an amazing show!” Wally had said. “I don’t get what the big deal is!” Now he understood. Bendy had been running around the studio all day, yelling about how he was going to defeat Rita Repulsa, striking strange poses, and pretending to turn into a dinosaur. The little demon’s excitement was cute, but also disrupted the work of pretty much everyone. Wally, in particular, couldn’t get a lot done due to Bendy running all over the place. 

“I told you letting him watch Power Rangers was a bad idea,” Sammy said as Wally cleaned up another set of inky footprints. 

“Yeah yeah, shut it,” Wally muttered. 

“Have you learned anything from this, Franks?”

“I will shove this mop up your ass.”

Sammy put his hands up, smirking, and disappeared back into his office. Bendy streaked by again, laughing as Boris chased after him. Both toons seemed to be having the time of their lives. 

“Get back here!” Alice yelled. She was missing her halo. Oh. Wally groaned as they stirred up a bunch of ink. This had been a mistake. But at least the toons were having fun.


	17. Chapter 17

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“Do I even want to know who Joey used to make these three?” Shawn asked, picking up Edgar and gently cradling him.  
> -Clasping hands, Sammy and Susie followed the others onto the plane. By the time Joey learned that his ‘core team’ had quit, they’d be far away, never to return.  
> -[Super Bowl party]
> 
> (I do have a few others I considered, but I decided they can wait till next time.)

I’ve never been to a Super Bowl party, so that one might be a little rocky. 

* * *

Police had descended on the studio after Henry had managed to get out. The remaining members of Joey Drew Studios, the ones who had gotten out, had returned to see the damage Joey had done. There weren’t a lot of the survivors left. A few interns, animators, and Shawn. Shawn Flynn stood before the studio, his heart pounding in his chest. He’d hoped to never see this place again. He knew Joey had been behind Wally’s disappearance, after all. Soon enough, the toymaker caught sight of Henry sitting on the back of an ambulance, surrounded by a bunch of toons.

“Henry!” He yelled, running over. “What happened?” Almost immediately the wolf toon launched himself onto Shawn, whimpering and nuzzling against Shawn. 

“Um…Heya.” Shawn awkwardly patting the wolf’s head. 

“Boris, you’re scaring him,” Henry said. Boris only held Shawn tighter. 

“Wait, Boris?” Shawn frowned. Looking closer, the toon did look like Boris the Wolf from the cartoons. He could tell the others were Alice Angel, Bendy the Dancing Demon, and the Butcher Gang. The Butcher Gang looked horribly off-model. They made upset little noises, clinging to one another. 

“Surprise.” Henry made a subdued ‘magical’ gesture with his hand. “Joey managed to make the toons real.”

“But…How?”

“By using members of the studio,” Henry said. “Boris used to be Wally.” Well, that explained why Boris was being so clingy. Edgar limped up to Shawn, pulling at his pants. 

“Do I even want to know who Joey used to make these three?” Shawn asked, picking up Edgar and gently cradling him.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Henry shrugged slightly. “I only figured out the others because they can mostly talk. The Butcher Gang…Well…” He gestured towards them. The toons made garbled noises and shrieks. 

“I’m sorry.” Alice’s lip started to quiver and she began to cry. 

“No, Al, you’re gonna make me cry too!” Bendy tried to keep himself calm but he started to sob as well. Henry gathered the toons up in his arms and tried to comfort them. Shawn stayed where he was, holding Edgar and being held by Boris. He didn’t want to think about what Wally had gone through, what all of them had gone through, being turned into a cartoon. He was on the verge of tears. 

“Can I…Would it be okay if I visited after all this?” Shawn asked. “I mean, the toons are goin’ with you, aren’t they?”

“I will fight anyone who tries to take them away,” Henry said. “But, yeah, it’d be nice if you visited.” Boris immediately perked up, his tail wagging as he nuzzled against Shawn. 

“Yeah, I love you too,” Shawn said. Things were going to be different after this, that was for sure. 

.

.

“Is everyone ready?” Grant asked. The employees of Joey Drew studios looked around at each other. It was early in the morning, and the eight of them had come to the airstrip under the cover of darkness. Grant, Susie, Sammy, Wally, Thomas, Shawn, Norman, and Allison were all leaving the country to get away from Joey Drew. He had yet to harm any of them, but they’d seen his experiments on the various interns that had gone missing. Henry himself had already fled with his family, which left them to get away on their own. 

“We’re ready,” Thomas said. 

“Still can’t believe we’re doin’ this,” Norman muttered, mostly to himself. 

“It’s the only way to get away from him.” Grant gestured for them to start getting on. They began loading their luggage onto the plan. Sammy and Susie glanced at each other. 

“No going back now, huh?” Susie gave her boyfriend a nervous smile. 

“I guess not.” Sammy nodded. Clasping hands, Sammy and Susie followed the others onto the plane. By the time Joey learned that his ‘core team’ had quit, they’d be far away, never to return. Grant had booked a private plane to England. Once they were in England, they’d decide where they wanted to go from there. They’d have new lives. They’d forget they ever knew Joey Drew. It was more than a little terrifying, but it was the best course of action. They couldn’t become Joey’s victims. Not this time. 

.

.

No one in Joey Drew Studios really paid attention to football. But, in the interest of seeming ‘normal’, they were having a Super Bowl party anyway. Henry was sure this was a bad idea. It was absolutely going to end up being a disaster and he was certain of it. Joey couldn’t be talked out of it, though. 

“It’ll be great!” He said. “We’ll do all the things that normal people do! And the toons can experience football!” He was setting up chips, dip, and alcohol on a table in the break room. Norman was setting up a projector in the back so they could watch the game. 

“Joey, you think that football is the sport where you throw balls in baskets.” Henry sighed as handed Joey some paper plates. 

“It’s not?” Joey frowned slightly. “Oh well. I’m sure someone will know  _something_ about football.” 

As it turned out, only one person who came to the party did. Sammy showed up drunk, as he always did, with Susie at his side. Susie was dressed in a jersey and had her face painted in the colours of her preferred team. 

“Why is no one else dressed up?” She asked when she entered. “This is a Super Bowl party, right?” 

“No one here knows anything about football.” Norman shrugged from where he stood near the projector. 

“Is that what people do for football?” Alice asked. “It’s a little strange.” 

“I like it!” Bendy’s whole face lit up.

“Well then,” Susie drew herself up to her full height. “I guess I’ll have to teach you all.” Boris and Bendy were rather excited by this, while Alice just made sure Sammy didn’t drink any more than he already had. Eventually,, Wally and Shawn showed up, and they didn’t know any more about football than Joey did. Shawn knew about soccer, but not American football. Very few people were paying attention to the game in the end. Boris, Bendy, and Susie paid close attention to the game, Susie pointing out and explaining everything. Joey and Henry stayed in the back with Norman. 

“Well, at least it’s a party.” Joey conceded. 

“People do enjoy any excuse to drink.” Norman laughed slightly. “Especially Sammy.” Alice was still trying to make sure Sammy didn’t get alcohol poisoning. 

“This is a little fun,” Henry admitted. 

“See? I told you it would be!” Joey wrapped an arm around Henry’s shoulder. Henry rolled his eyes but smiled in the end. It hadn’t been a complete waste of time.


	18. Puella Magi Henry Magica

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey makes a deal with the wrong creature.

> The original prompt: 
> 
> _ At least my employees…and the Toons…are all safe. At least I’m the only one…who made a contract. _
> 
> With the last of his willpower, Joey dipped his hand into a pool of ink and wrote Don’t Trust the Incubator on the wall. Then, he collapsed to the floor as his Soul Gem shattered, the emerging Warlock screaming with his voice.
> 
> From a short distance away, the Incubator watched as the studio vanished, being sucked into and merging with the Warlock’s barrier. As soon as it was gone, it turned and vanished into the night.
> 
>  
> 
> And Ideas by MsFaust:
> 
> A few ideas concerning Joey's Warlock form:
> 
> -The Ink Machine acts as a 'soul jar' of sorts--in order to destroy 'Bendy' (the Warlock's main body), the machine must be destroyed.
> 
> -Minions would include the Searchers and Butcher Gang clones, as well as other minor enemies appearing in C4/C5. Additionally, the major enemies ('Sammy,' 'Alice,' the Projectionist, etc.) would be other Witches/Warlocks that evolved from minions.
> 
> -The Warlock's name would probably be derived from one or two famous animation icons, such as Fleischer, Iwerks, or Bluth.

 

* * *

 

Joey Drew had made a mistake. He should have known that when the little cat/bunny creature had come to him with the deal it was too good to be true. Henry had always told him he was too trusting. But he’d wanted so badly to make his creations live. He loved them so much. He wanted to give them the kind of life they’d never see on a page. So he’d taken the creature’s deal. He’d become a magical boy in order to give his toons life. He’d been so happy when he’d seen them for the first time. Boris, Bendy, and Alice, all together and all alive! Really alive!

“How did you do this?” Henry asked him. 

“It’s a secret,” Joey told him with a wink. He tried to keep his soul gem hidden. Henry wasn’t a magical boy himself, but he knew his friend had had a few run-ins with Kyuubey and others like him. For the first few months, everything was alright. The toons lived and the ink machine wasn’t as necessary as it had been before. A little bit of tinkering allowed it run more smoothly and cut down on the amount of ink based accidents. People were happy. Joey fulfilled his end of the deal to the best of his ability, hunting witches along with magical girls and boys from the area. It was from them that he learned of the corruption that plagued magical girls and boys. He’d seen the blackness creeping up in his soul gem, but he hadn’t understood why it was happening. By the time the others told him, it was too late for him. 

“You didn’t tell me this would happen!” He yelled when Kyuubey came to see him. “You didn’t tell me I’d turn into a witch!”

“That’s the way the cycle works.” Kyuubey stared at him with dead eyes, its tail swishing back and forth. “If you had reservations, you should have asked more questions.” Joey felt his face heating up. His hands shook at his sides. He could lose everything. God, he had been a fool.

“Getting upset will only make it go faster,” Kyuubey said. 

“Get out,” Joey slammed his fist on his desk. “Now. Before I kill you.”

“That’s cute,” Kyuubey said. “You couldn’t, even if you tried.” Then it disappeared. Joey collapsed into his chair. He had to do something. He had to get everyone away from him. So he started to act erratically, tinkered with the ink machine so it would spit out more and more ink in an attempt to get people to quit. And it did. A lot of the interns and lesser animators came into his office and very nicely quit. But still, some hung on. The core team that had started the studio with him stayed, as well as those who had nowhere else to go. Sammy, Henry, Wally, Susie, Grant. Thomas had been out the door the second the ink started flooding. Shawn had been next after that, and after that, it had been Allison. The toons were obviously scared by his behaviour. He hated it. He really did, but he had to make sure they were safe. Henry signed up to go to war, and Joey had given him every reason to never come back to the studio. It hurt him to yell at his friend and call him a traitor, but he needed Henry to be safe. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Sammy had asked after Henry left. “He’s your best friend.” Joey hadn’t even said anything in return. He broke down in tears, burying his head in his hands. After that, Henry’s wife came and collected the toons. 

“We don’t trust you with them anymore.” Linda had said. He had put on a show of trying to fight, but he was glad to see them taken to a safe place. Once Henry was gone, the others soon followed. Sammy and Susie left after Susie nearly got ink poisoning. Wally left after he broke his leg slipping on ink. Then it was just Grant and Joey. Grant, being the professional he was, gave a two weeks notice. 

“I know what you’re doing,” Grant said when he put his notice on Joey’s desk. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Joey said. “I’m not doing anything.” 

“Alright, sir.” Then Grant walked out. It hurt, seeing everything he’d worked for crumble before him at his own hands. It was necessary, though. Everyone was safe. It was just in time, as well. The corruption of his soul gem was almost complete. He was almost a witch. Alone in the studio, he smiled softly to himself. 

_ A t least my employees…and the Toons…are all safe. At least I’m the only one…who made a contract. _

With the last of his willpower, Joey dipped his hand into a pool of ink and wrote  **Don’t Trust the Incubator** on the wall. Then, he collapsed to the floor as his Soul Gem shattered, the emerging Warlock screaming with his voice. From a short distance away, the Incubator watched as the studio vanished, being sucked into and merging with the Warlock’s barrier. As soon as it was gone, it turned and vanished into the night.

 .

.

Years had passed, and Henry was finally back. He’d been called back by Grant Cohen, who was waiting outside the place where Henry could have sworn the studio had stood. He could feel magic emanating from what appeared to be an empty lot. 

“Glad you could make it,” Grant said dryly.

“What did Joey do?” Henry immediately asked. 

“He made a deal with something he shouldn’t have,” Grant replied. “I believe you’ve had a few run-ins with it. It’s called Kyuubey.” Henry’s blood ran cold. 

“He...He made a contract with Kyuubey?” His voice shook. 

“In order to give the toons life, yes.” Grant nodded. “By the time I found out about it, it was too late.”

“So the lot is...”

“The Warlock’s domain, yes.” Grant adjusted his glasses, folding his arms behind his back. “You have some experience in the matter, so I thought you’d be the best one to help me handle this.”

“Wait, how do  _ you _ know about witches and warlocks?” Henry asked. 

“Former magical boy,” Grant said. “I still occasionally pick up the mantle to take care of problems. I thought this was one more than worthy of my attention.” He snapped his fingers and was engulfed in emerald energy. When it faded, he stood in what appeared to be Victorian formal wear. 

“That’s a nice costume,” Henry said. 

“Thank you.” Grant then turned back. “In any case, I need your help to defeat Joey.” Henry nodded, turning and pressing his hand against the barrier between the normal world and the world of the Warlock that had once been his best friend.

“What’s...What’s he called now?”

“The Fleischer Inkwell.” 

Henry paused. “Like...The older Fleischer brothers Out Of The Inkwell cartoons?” 

“Exactly.” Grant slipped easily into business mode, a mode Henry suspected the other man seldom left. “From what I can tell, he controls ink. It makes sense given how much ink that godawful machine of his always produced.” Henry was only half listening. He wanted to go in, wanted to see the damage for himself. Grant stopped talking, sensing he’d lost Henry’s attention. 

“Would you like to just get in?” He asked. 

“I want to see it for myself.” Henry murmured. 

Grant sighed. “Very well.”

The two of them turned and stepped into the domain of the warlock. Once inside, they were immediately greeted by strange creatures that looked to be made of ink. Grant handed Henry a fire axe and they got to work. Grant refrained from using his powers, deciding instead to hit them searchers with a board he’d pried up, which he’d later trade for a pipe as they delved deeper into the studio. But their first priority was the ink machine. 

“It should be this way,” Grant said, gesturing for Henry to follow. 

“So, what is this thing we’re looking for exactly?” Henry asked. 

“It’s a machine that produces magically infused ink,” Grant explained. “Knowing Joey, that’s probably where his soul gem is.” Henry nodded solemnly and followed Grant. He’d had to put down teammates who’d gone bad before, and it never got any easier. Each time it felt like a part of him was dying along with them. They got to the room where the ink machine lay but found it boarded up. When they tried to pry the boards off, a strange, twisted version of Bendy appeared and tried to swipe at them. Henry, out of practice, shrieked and ran for the door. Grant hesitated, staring at the broken facsimile of Bendy. Then he turned and ran after Henry. As soon as they got to the door, the floor beneath their feet crumbled, sending them downwards in the bowels of the studio. 

“Ow.” Henry groaned, getting to his feet. “I’m getting too old for this.”

“We both are.” Grant conjured a cane to lever himself off the floor. “Almost feels unfair, doesn’t it?” Henry nodded solemnly, mentally recalling the faces of his fallen comrades. He still remembered each and every one of their names. 

“Shall we continue?” Grant asked. “We’ve been set back quite a bit.”

“Yeah.” Henry nodded. When they got to the Music Department, they encountered their first real challenge. Evidently whatever was left of Joey’s mind had created guardians from the memories of those who had worked there. The first guardian was a caricature of Sammy, a cultist worshipping Bendy with a fervour and zeal the real Sammy had never possessed. In order to defeat him, Grant had to call on his powers while Henry stood back, practically powerless. 

“Wouldn’t you like to put Joey out of his misery on your own?” Kyuubey’s voice slid into his ear. “This is your burden to bear, isn’t it? He’s  _ your _ friend.”

“Go away.” Henry snarled, turning and decapitating the creature. 

The next challenge was a malformed version of Alice, obviously created from the memories of Susie and Allison. Henry reeled at the sight of such a grotesque vision. Grant took care of this threat as well, while Henry went off on his own to eliminate the third guardian. It was obvious whose memory the Projectionist was based on. Henry dispatched the creature with his axe. Once it was dead, he stood there staring at its body. It was a temporary fix and he knew it. The guardians would keep coming back until Joey was defeated. 

“It’s just a deal,” Kyuubey said. “Your soul is a small price to pay, isn’t it?” 

“Do you want to die again?” Henry asked flatly. Kyuubey just smiled, its face as devoid of emotion as always. 

“I’ll be waiting.”


	19. Chapter 19

[A little soon, but…](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/170483453170/a-little-soon-but)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“Did you really think I’d use my own employees for this? Honestly, Henry, I thought you knew me better than that. Besides, this way, my family can share the benefits of immortality.”  
> -“Okay, how about the ink is cursed, and slowly Toonifies those who get exposed too much? Joey would probably be planning to use that in some way, of course…”  
> -“I think there’s only one way to settle this.” Bendy leered at Alice. “Alice Angel, I challenge you…to a dance-off.”
> 
> Alice briefly raised an eyebrow, then glared at her rival for the spotlight.
> 
> “Challenge…accepted.”
> 
> The Searchers moved out of the way as the monsters that had once been a cartoon demon and angel strode into the middle of the floor, taking up positions directly across from each other. Catching a nod from Bendy, Sammy turned to the music player on the table next to him and began to fiddle with it. A moment later, the room was filled with the opening of “Beat It.”

That second prompt is getting its own post. It’s going in the D&D club AU.

* * *

Henry had had it up to here with Joey’s bullshit. He’d entered the studio and had been met immediately by a whole bunch of monsters made of ink. He’d been attacked by the former music director, ordered around by an angel, and chased by some monstrous version of Bendy. When he finally found Joey, he was spitting mad. He slammed open the door to Joey’s office and stormed in. Whatever he’d been ready to say died in his throat. Joey stood behind his desk, young as the day they’d opened the studio together. 

“Henry!” Joey’s entire face lit up. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Joey?” Henry took a step back. “You…You look…”

“I know, isn’t it great?” Joey gestured to himself. “The others look just as good, wait until you see them.” He leaned down, starting to punch in numbers 

“The…The others?” Henry asked. “You mean the monsters?” Joey paused, his finger hovering over the digits. 

“Ah, you mean the shades.” He pursed his lip, looking a little upset. 

“Joey, what did you do to them?” Henry demanded. “They’re barely human anymore! How can you count any of what you did as a success?!”

“They’re not the people you knew,” Joey assured him. “They’re..well….” Joey paused, trying to put everything into words. “Think of them as shed cocoons. They’re what was left after the others completed their transformations.” 

“Wait, how did you figure out how to do this?” Henry’s head was spinning. He was so confused. Joey put the phone down and put an arm around Henry’s shoulder, drawing him close. 

“I tested it on myself until I could get it right and share it with everyone else.” He said. “Did you really think I’d use my own employees for this? Honestly, Henry, I thought you knew me better than that. Besides, this way, my family can share the benefits of immortality.”

“So…You really didn’t turn everyone into monsters?” Henry asked. Joey shook his head, laughing and patting Henry’s back. 

“No! Of course not! I mean, after you left I did consider it, but I realized you would never forgive me if I did that.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have.” Henry managed a small smile. 

“Exactly.” Joey smiled disarmingly. 

“So…Why did you call me back now?” 

“I…Well…” Joey laughed nervously, his face going a little red. “Truth be told, I was starting to miss you. I originally thought you’d still be angry at me after the way we left things, but it’s been years.”

“I stopped being angry with you years ago,” Henry said. Joey smiled softly. 

“I’m glad.” He said. “I couldn’t stand the thought of my best friend hating me.” He hesitated for a moment, taking Henry’s hand in his. “Would you like to join us?”

“You’re offering me immortality.” 

“Yes, I am.”

Henry considered this for a moment. Immortality did sound awfully tempting, he had to admit that. And the thought of being able to see all his former co-workers would be nice. He looked at Joey, smiling that same goofy smile he always had. The smile that had convinced Henry to agree to many a bullshit idea. 

“I’ll take it.” He finally said. Joey’s smile widened and he swept Henry up into a hug. Henry smiled as well. He was glad to be back with his friend. 

.

.

Henry had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. Bendy had finally breached Alice’s sanctuary, and now the two were having a standoff. Bendy had an army of Searchers, and Sammy, behind him. Alice had Henry behind her. Henry wasn’t sure why he was standing with Alice. He wasn’t on her side or anything.

“So, you’ve found me,” Alice said, folding her arms. “What are you going to do?”

“Well, first of all, we need to settle who really runs this place,” Bendy said, cracking his knuckles. 

“Oh really?” Alice examined her nails. “How do you suggest we do that?”

“I think there’s only one way to settle this.” Bendy leered at Alice. “Alice Angel, I challenge you…to a dance-off.”

Alice briefly raised an eyebrow, then glared at her rival for the spotlight.

“Challenge…accepted.”

The Searchers moved out of the way as the monsters that had once been a cartoon demon and angel strode into the middle of the floor, taking up positions directly across from each other. Catching a nod from Bendy, Sammy turned to the music player on the table next to him and began to fiddle with it. A moment later, the room was filled with the opening of “Beat It.” Alice chose very sensual movements, rolling her hips and tossing her hair as the song played. Bendy snapped his fingers and swayed his way across the floor. 

“What the…” Henry muttered. “This…This can’t be happening.”

“Would you prefer they fight it out with their fists?” Sammy asked, walking up to stand beside Henry. “I don’t think so. This is far more preferable.” 

“I…I guess.” Henry nodded slowly. “It’s still weird as Hell, though. You have to admit that much.” 

“I’m literally made of ink,” Sammy said flatly. “I worship a cartoon demon. This is not weird for me.” The two toon monsters danced their hearts out until the song ended. Once it was over, they were both breathing heavily. 

“Well, who won?” They asked, turning to Henry. Henry blinked. 

“Sorry?”

“Who won?” Alice demanded. 

“Since when am I the judge?” Henry asked, putting his hands up. 

“Who won?” Bendy said, folding his arms. Henry just groaned. He had a feeling no matter who he chose, someone was going to be unhappy.


	20. Things Get Kinky

[Weird/kinky idea I came up with a while ago…](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/170515824560/weirdkinky-idea-i-came-up-with-a-while-ago)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> What if the reason Bendy keeps chasing Henry is because he keeps accidentally interrupting the demon’s ‘special time’ with Alice?  
> Also:  
> -Sammy and/or Norman are there to watch the Toons, although they don’t do that great a job.  
> “How many times do I have to tell you, Sammy? Don’t interrupt my personal time with Alice!”  
> -Alice is only pretending to be psycho in order to get Bendy turned on (he is a demon), She even changes her mind about letting Henry go because she’s never had a threesome before.

Oh boy. Things are about to get kinky. 

* * *

Henry had his back pressed up against the wall. He was breathing heavily, his heart pounding in his chest. Bendy stalked towards him, that leering smile plastered across his face. Henry closed his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable pain that would follow. But nothing happened. Henry opened one eye. Bendy stood in front of him, arms folded. 

“Aren’t you going to…kill me?”

“What? Why would I do that?” Bendy snorted. “Geez! I’m not that bad.”

“Then…Why were you chasing me?” Henry asked. 

“You keep interrupting us,” Bendy said, tapping his foot. 

“Us?”

“Me ‘n Al,” Bendy said. “We’re trying to have some ‘alone time’ if you catch my drift.” Henry stared at him, realization slowly dawning on him. 

“Oh…Oh God. I’m…I’m sorry.” Henry stammered. 

“It’s fine,” Bendy said. “Just stay here for now, wouldja? I think Al’s starting to lose the mood.” Henry nodded, trying to look anywhere but at the demon. 

“Great.” Then Bendy turned and disappeared into the puddles of ink. Henry sunk to the floor and buried his face in his hands, screaming internally. Words couldn’t describe how much he didn’t want to think about his kids having sex. 

.

.

Sammy and Norman weren’t thrilled about having to cut their date short to come babysit the toons, but they couldn’t very well turn down an order from their boss. Henry was taking Joey to the hospital for his yearly checkup and they needed someone to take care of the toons during that time. 

“I just don’t get why it has to be us,” Sammy grumbled as he and Norman made their way down the stairs to where the toons resided. “It’s not like Susie or Allison are doing anything today.”

“Yes, but this means Henry and Joey trust us.” Norman squeezed his boyfriend’s hand. “Doesn’t it feel good to be trusted?” Sammy shrugged slightly, his face flushing as he mumbled something. The two of them found Boris sitting on a couch, playing his clarinet. 

“Hey, Bo.” Norman waved to the wolf. “How’s it going?”

“Norman! Sammy!” Boris immediately perked up. “I thought today was your day off!”

“It is,” Sammy said. Norman elbowed him in the ribs before addressing Boris. 

“Henry and Joey asked us to look after you three while Joey’s at the hospital for his checkup.” He explained. 

“Where are the other two?” Sammy asked, rubbing his ribs. 

“They’re in the back,” Boris said. 

“Great, I’ll check on them.” Sammy let go of Norman’s hand, heading for the back room. Boris got up, suddenly looking worried. 

“Sammy, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He trailed after the music director. “They’re a little busy right now.”

“Busy? Busy now?” Norman asked. Sammy opened the door and was greeted with Bendy and Alice in a rather…compromising position. 

“How many times do I have to tell you, Sammy? Don’t interrupt my personal time with Alice!” Bendy looked up and yelled. 

“Shut the door, will you?” Alice said coolly. Sammy shut the door, turned around, and went back to the couch. 

“I did warn you.” Boris grimaced. 

“We will never speak of this again,” Sammy said. “Never again.”

.

.

Henry’s head spun as he stumbled out of the elevator. Alice was waiting for him, looking just as monstrous as she had before. But now she was giggling and fidgeting like an excited schoolgirl. 

“What the-” He started to say, only to be surprised when Bendy suddenly appeared from the floor. 

“Okay, what gives, Al?” The demon asked, looking at Alice. “I thought we agreed we’d let him go.”

“Yes, I know.” She said, still giddy. “But I thought of something.” Henry was absolutely floored by how different she was acting. Was she not crazy? Had it been an act this whole time?

“Oh yeah?” Bendy glanced back at Henry, who stood stock still in front of the ruined elevator. 

“How would you feel about a threeway?” She asked, biting her lip. “I realized I’ve never had one before.” 

“Excuse me?” Henry sputtered. Bendy seemed to think on this for a moment, nodding slowly and looking Henry up and down. 

“I always wondered what it would be like to nail Henry.” He admitted. 

“Do I not get a say in this?” Henry asked. 

“Oh, you absolutely do,” Alice said. “I just wanted to get Ben’s input first.”

“Why are you acting so…normal?” Henry continued. “You were a total psycho before!”

“It’s foreplay.” Alice waved a hand dismissively. “Ben likes it when I play the insane femme fatale. It’s fun.” Henry groaned, running his hands through his hair. This was not how he’d expected his trip to Joey Drew Studios going. 

“I’m in,” Bendy said. “What about you, Henry? You wanna have some fun?” Henry groaned louder.

“He might need some time to think it over.” Alice put a hand on Bendy’s shoulder. “Let’s give him some space.” So the two of them moved away, allowing Henry to just vent for a little.


	21. Chapter 21

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“You shut up and listen!” Wally slammed his free hand on the table. “No matter what anyone says, you are an innocent man, Henry. And we’re going to prove it. Me, Sammy, Susie, Shawn, Allison, Thomas, Grant–we know you didn’t kill Norman, and we’re not gonna let you die in prison for something you didn’t do. We’d even go back to the studio, if it was still standing. But even without anything from that place, we won’t rest until you’re free.”  
>  -“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what was in those brownies?”  
>  -“Damn…I feel like I’m in my twenties again!”

Okay, so we’ve got a bit of angst, and then some humour. 

* * *

Henry had done it, he’d saved everyone. Everyone, except Norman that was. He’d freed them all, but he hadn’t realized until it was too late that Norman had been the projector headed monster. When the police had descended on the studio, Henry had been holding Norman’s body. Even the police hadn’t been able to remove the projector from the body. And just like that, the police had whisked Henry away to prison. The others had tried to stop the officers, but they’d all been too weak, too traumatized. Henry hadn’t put up much of a fight. He’d been taken and was in prison awaiting trial for the murder of one Norman Polk. Which was how Wally wound up sitting across from Henry in the visiting area of the county jail. 

“Hey. How ya feelin’?” The former janitor smiled nervously, taking in the appearance of his friend. Henry had definitely seen better days. There were dark bags under his eyes and his hair hung limp and greasy. He hadn’t been shaving either. If Sammy had been there, he might have likened Henry to Jean Valjean. 

“I’ve been better.” Henry managed a small smile. “How is everyone doing?”

“We’re getting reacclimated and stuff.” Wally shrugged slightly. “Sammy and Susie got jobs as music teachers, Grant’s going back to being an accountant, Thomas still has his freelance biz, Allison’s going back to school to be a nurse, and Shawn’s an art teacher now. We’re all in a lotta therapy, let me tell ya that.”

“What about you?” Henry asked. “What are you doing now?”

“I’m, uh, thinkin’ of goin’ into comedy,” Wally admitted. “Everyone says I got the talent for it.”

“You’d definitely be good at it.” Henry nodded. “I’m glad you’re all doing well. I was honestly a little worried.”

“Well, we’re real worried about you,” Wally said, his smile fading a bit. “You sure you’re doin’ okay?”

“You shouldn’t worry about me, Wally,” Henry said. “I deserve this.”

“No, you don’t.” Wally insisted. “You weren’t the one to kill Norman.” He tried to reach out to touch his friend’s hand, but the guards gave him a look and he backed up. 

“It  _was_  me.” Henry buried his head in his hands. “They’re right. I killed Norman. Alice gave me that gun and I…” He had to stop, the words catching in his throat. “You should leave me here, Wally. Forget about me. All of you should-” 

“You shut up and listen!” Wally slammed his free hand on the table. “No matter what anyone says, you are an innocent man, Henry. And we’re going to prove it. Me, Sammy, Susie, Shawn, Allison, Thomas, Grant–we know you didn’t kill Norman, and we’re not gonna let you die in prison for something you didn’t do. We’d even go back to the studio, if it was still standing. But even without anything from that place, we won’t rest until you’re free.”

“I deserve this,” Henry said. 

“You can say it a million times and it still won’t be true,” Wally said. “We’re getting you out of here, Henry. I don’t care how self-pitying you are, you’re not taking the fall for Joey’s mistake.”

“You shouldn’t waste your time on me,” Henry said weakly. 

“Tough shit. We’re gonna.” Wally got up and started for the door. He paused in the doorway, looking back. “Take care of yourself, okay, Henry?” Then he was gone.

.

.

Joey had brought in some brownies for the members of the studio. This, in itself, was a little strange. Joey wasn’t a baker and he seldom brought in food for anyone unless it was a special occasion. When asked why he’d brought in these brownies, he’d simply said, 

“I felt like it.” 

Henry was immediately suspicious and refused to eat any of the brownies. Sammy similarly didn’t eat any, but that was because he was sick at the moment. Susie and Norman were both on diets, so they declined as well. Grant hadn’t come out of his office so he was out and Thomas didn’t eat sweets period. Allison was allergic to chocolate, so she passed. Which left Wally. Wally never turned down sugar. Never. He immediately gobbled down one and would have eaten more if Joey hadn’t stopped him.

“One at a time.” Joey had said, holding the pan out of Wally’s reach. 

“C’mon, just one more.” Wally tried to snatch it away, but Joey managed to keep it from him. 

“I’m not budging on this point, Franks.” He smiled placatingly. Wally groaned and turned away, going back to work grumbling. As the day went on, the other members of the studio noticed that wally was acting….strange. He kept bumping into things, reaching out to things that weren’t there, talking to the air. It was honestly a little worrying. Henry managed to corner Joey near the end of the day, Wally in tow. He had decided to just drag Wally around so the janitor wouldn’t hurt himself. 

“Ah, how is Mr Franks getting on?” Joey smiled brightly. Henry gave him a deadpan look and gestured to Wally, who was staring at the ceiling. 

“Oh my God, I can taste colours,” Wally whispered, his eyes wide as saucers. 

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what was in those brownies?” Henry asked, looking over at Joey. 

“Just some LSD,” Joey said as if this were a completely normal thing to put in brownies.

“Joey.”

“Yes?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s a crime to give people drugs without their consent. You were really going to give all of us LSD?”

“….It was a bit of a bad idea, wasn’t it?” Joey smiled nervously. Henry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Alright, we’ll talk about this later.” He said. “I’m taking Wally home. He needs to rest.”

Wally never really lived that day down. Sammy teased him about it whenever the opportunity arose. Wally was absolutely mortified by his behaviour and tried to make everyone stop talking about it. Joey Drew Studios lived on playful jabs and teasing one another. It was how they got through their days. So for as much as Wally wanted the incident forgotten, it wasn’t going away. 

.

.

Henry hadn’t been sure what to expect when he’d returned to Joey Drew Studios. A whole host of things had gone through his mind as he’d been driving up to the old studio. What if Joey had gone bankrupt? What if he’d done something terrible to the employees? What if people were  _dead_? What he hadn’t expected was to be greeted by Sammy Lawrence, looking as young as the day he’d been hired. 

“Sammy?” Henry blinked, almost unable to believe what he was seeing. Sammy seemed a bit surprised as well. 

“Son of a bitch.” He said. “You actually came back.”

“Sammy, how do you-”

“Hey! Henry actually came back!” Henry was cut off as Sammy turned and yelled back into the studio. Susie’s head popped out from around the corner and she hurried over. She too looked the same she had when she’d been hired. 

“It’s so good to see you, Henry!” She threw her arms around him and held him close. “Joey’s going to be so happy!” Henry just stood there, unable to process what was happening. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. They couldn’t be this young. 

“Henry.” A soft voice drew his attention away from the gathering crowd of his former coworkers. And there he was. Joey Drew. He looked exactly the same way he had when Henry had first met him, an awkward, slightly gangly 20 something with a charismatic smile and a gleam in his eyes. His glasses were askew and his clothing was rumpled, just like they’d been upon their first meeting. Henry almost felt like crying. 

“It’s good to see you.” Joey stepped forward, hands in his pockets, looking rather sheepish. “I know we parted on bad terms but-” Joey didn’t get to finish. Henry threw himself onto Joey, embracing his friend as though no time had passed. 

“I missed you,” Henry whispered. Joey awkwardly raised his arms, patting Henry’s back. 

“I missed you too, old friend.” 

Once Henry finally let go, which took quite awhile, Joey took him to his office to explain what was going on. 

“I made a few…questionable decisions after you left,” Joey admitted as they sat down. “I wanted to give our creations life and I used some less than savoury means in order to do so.” Henry raised an eyebrow. 

“What kinds of methods?” He asked. 

“…Black magic?” Joey gave him a sheepish smile. “But don’t worry, no one was hurt. Everyone staged an intervention before I was too far gone.” His smile grew soft, almost wistful. “They dragged me back from the brink, reminding me that you would never want to come back if I did something drastic.”

“They’re smart people,” Henry said. “Smarter than either of us give them credit for.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” Joey laughed. “Anyway, I did manage to give the toons life, they’re probably in the basement right now, and I found a way to make everyone immortal as well!” His eyes lit up. “I found a way to enchant the ink from the ink machine so that it would keep us in perfect shape indefinitely!” Henry nodded, getting up and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot in the corner of Joey’s office. 

“That must have taken a lot of trial and error.” He said. 

“Well, yes, it did,” Joey replied. “But I only tested it on myself. I wanted to make sure it was perfect before I gave it to anyone else. I wanted everyone to be safe.” It was then he noticed Henry was drinking the coffee. He resisted the urge to bite lip. Perhaps he should have told Henry that the ink was in the coffee. Oh well, his friend would find out soon enough. 

“So, why did you call me back?” Henry asked, standing up a bit straighter. The stoop he’d developed from years of drawing all hunched over had vanished and the wrinkles in his skin were smoothing out. 

“I wanted to show you all I’ve done.” Joey gestured around. “And…I wanted to give you the chance to join us.” 

“Join you?” Henry’s eyes widened slightly. The grey in his hair was fading and the paunch of age giving way to a more lean build. 

“I’ve missed you, Henry,” Joey said, his expression softening. “I want you to come back. If you don’t want to, that’s alright. I won’t keep you here. But it would be nice to have you here again.” Henry considered this for a moment, draining the rest of the cup of coffee. 

“What’s in this coffee? It’s really good.” He said. “Damn…I feel like I’m in my twenties again!” 

“That’s because you are.” Joey couldn’t suppress his smile anymore. It was so amazing to see his friend young once more. 

“Excuse me?” Henry blinked at Joey, then looked down at himself. He didn’t scream, that was good. After a moment, he smiled and shook his head. 

“I probably shouldn’t have drunk that coffee.” He looked up at Joey. “At least not without asking what was in it.” 

“But you’re not unhappy with the result, are you?” Joey asked hopefully. 

“No, I’m not.” Henry shook his head. “I forgot how good it feels to be young.” 

“Will you come back?”

“Yes, I will.” Henry held out his hand to Joey, who grinned and shook it. 

“Welcome back, my friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last part was inspired heavily by the last part of The Creator's Heart by Star_Going_Supernova


	22. Poor Unfortunate Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one isn't from MsFaust, but I really liked it.

[Idea](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/170670570715/idea)

> Submitted by anonymous
> 
> Okay, I can’t be the only one who can see Bendy singing  _Poor Unfortunate Souls_  to Henry, right? Like, maybe his wife is sick and Bendy decides to take Henry’s smile or something like that in exchange for healing her?

Yeah, I can do that. 

* * *

Henry’s wife was sick, sicker than he’d ever seen her before. She’d been coughing for weeks, had a fever that would not break, and most recently…she’d coughed up blood. They’d gone to the doctor and Linda had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. 

“We don’t know how far along it is.” The doctor explained. “But you might want to get your affairs in order. Just in case.” Linda had cried almost nonstop on the drive back. Henry hadn’t been able to cry. He didn’t want to make Linda upset. So he put on a brave face. Once Linda was asleep, though, he broke down and sobbed in their living room, head in his hands. 

“Looks like you’re in a real pickle, Henry.” A familiar voice graced his ears. 

“Go away, Bendy,” Henry said. “I don’t have time for you.”

“Oh, I think you do.” The demon appeared before him, taunting him with the cartoony appearance of Henry’s old creation. He lounged on the coffee table, tail flicking back and forth. 

“What do you want?” Henry asked. “My wife is sick, I don’t want to play your games.”

“What if I told you I could save her?” Bendy smiled lazily. This gave Henry pause. The thing using Bendy’s image was a real demon. It stood to reason he could make deals. 

“You could do that?” He whispered. 

“Oh Henry, of course I can.” Bendy laughed. “It’s what I do. It’s what I live for. To help poor unfortunate humans, like yourself; poor souls with no one else to turn to.” He hopped off the table, changing so he was the same height as Henry. He grabbed the old animator and began to waltz with him, singing all the while.

“I admit that, in the past, I’ve been a nasty. They weren’t kidding when they called me, well, “a witch”. But you’ll find that nowadays I’ve mended all my ways, repented, seen the light, and made a switch. True? Yes. And I, fortunately, know a little magic. It’s a talent that I always have possessed. And here lately, please don’t laugh, I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely, and depressed.” He stopped for a moment and Henry could have sworn he heard the demon mutter, “Pathetic”. Then he began again. 

“Poor unfortunate souls in pain, in need. This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl, and do I help them? Yes, indeed. Those poor unfortunate souls. So sad, so true. They come flocking to my circle crying, “Deals, Bendy, please!” And I help them! Yes, I do.” 

“And what kind of deal do you have for me?” Henry asked as they waltzed around his living room. 

“I’ll cure your wife’s silly little sickness,” Bendy said. “But in return, I want something from you.

“What?”

“Something…precious to you. Your humanity.”

“My- What on Earth are you talking about?” Henry tried to push Bendy away, but the demon held fast. 

“Even demons get lonely, kiddo.” Bendy spun and then dipped Henry. “And your old friend Joey is becoming ever so lonely in his cage. Why not spice up his torture by making his best friend into one of my personal servents?”

“You’re crazy if you think I’ll take that deal!” Henry tried to push away again. “I’d never see my wife or kids again!”

“That’s right, but your wife would have her health.” Bendy leaned in close enough that Henry could feel his breath. “If you say no, I could make her condition even worse. You might even lose her.” Henry felt his stomach sink. 

“You’re threatening me.” He said. “This is rigged!” 

“Life isn’t fair, is it?” Bendy laughed, a cruel sound. He produced a scroll from a pocket Henry didn’t even know he had. 

“You sign this,” the demon said. “And all your problems will go away.” 

“I…I need some time to think about this.” Henry shook his head. Bendy laughed, holding out a quill to Henry.

“Come on, you poor unfortunate soul!” He boomed. “Go ahead, make your choice! I’m a very busy man and I haven’t got all day. It won’t cost much, just your soul! You poor unfortunate soul, it’s sad but true. If you want to cross a bridge, my sweet, you’ve got to pay the toll. Take a gulp and take a breath and go ahead and sign the scroll! Boris, Alice, now I’ve got him, boys! The boss is on a roll! This poor unfortunate soul!” Henry closed his eyes and signed the contract.

“Good boy.” Bendy grinned. Almost immediately, Henry felt a pain in his chest. He collapsed to the ground, beginning to cough and retch. Upstairs, Linda slept peacefully for the first time in weeks. When she awoke, her husband was gone, never to return. He’d left a note behind, though,

_Lin, I have to go away. I don’t know when I’ll be back. You shouldn’t wait for me. I want you to be happy. Move on. I love you._

_Henry._


	23. Joey's Rager

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey throws a party and things get interesting

[Only requesting early because there’s too much angst in the BATIM Fandom](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/170701507090/only-requesting-early-because-theres-too-much)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> “Ow, my head…” Henry groaned as he sat up. “What happened last night?”
> 
> Around him, several of his friends were equally disoriented.
> 
> “Why am I wearing overalls and part of a Bendy cutout?”
> 
> “Allison, what is that on your face?”

> “How’d I get this on my head?”

Oooooh, I’m going to enjoy this. :D

* * *

The studio had just finished its 100th episode so Joey had thrown a party. In retrospect, Henry should have known that this in itself would have a lot of consequences. When Joey threw commemorative parties, things got crazy. Joey didn’t know exactly how to throw a party. He had a vague idea of what was supposed to happen gleaned from listening to the students at their college, mostly that it involved alcohol, which was why it generally got crazy. Everyone usually got blackout drunk and woke up the next day in strange situations.  Which was exactly how this party went down. 

“This better not end up like our graduation party,” Henry said as they set up. 

“Despite the police presence, may I remind you that no one got arrested?” Joey didn’t look away from the streamers he was hanging up.

“You threw up on a policeman’s shoes.”

“But I did not get arrested.” 

Henry groaned and ran a hand through his hair. He just wanted this to be an ordinary party. He didn’t want to wake up in a compromising position again like he had last time. Waking up snuggled against Joey had been nice, up until everyone had found them and never let him live it down.

“It won’t be like last time,” Joey assured him, stepping off the ladder. “Everything will be fine.”

“You said that last time.” Henry deadpanned.

“Oh come now, have a little faith in me!” Joey laughed, slinging an arm around Henry’s shoulder. “I haven’t sacrificed anyone to Satan, have I?”

“You’ve considered it.” Henry pointed out. 

“Yes, but I haven’t.” Joey tapped Henry’s nose. “Because you’re here and you keep me grounded. As long as you’re here, I’m certain things won’t get out of hand.”

“But no pressure, right?” Henry laughed nervously. 

“Oh, right, my apologies.” Joey let go of him. “But I promise, everything will be fine.”

The night passed in a blur of sounds and lights. Henry had a vague memory of dancing on one of the tables while everyone threw money at him, but that had to be a dream. When he woke up, he was in the break room. 

“Ow, my head…” Henry groaned as he sat up. “What happened last night?” Around him, several of his friends were equally disoriented. Sammy lay splayed out on a table, wearing a pair of ratty overalls he definitely hadn’t had on the night before and absolutely nothing else aside from a mask made from a Bendy cutout. Norman snored up against a wall, a projector balanced precariously on his head. Allison and Susie were huddled under a table, their faces half covered in ink. Wally was sprawled on the stairs wearing a Boris outfit. 

“And he told me it wouldn’t get out of hand,” Henry muttered, getting to his feet. Or, he tried. Looking down, he found that he’d ended up cuddling with Joey again. It was much less cute this time given that Joey was completely covered in ink.

“Joey, come on.” Henry tried to pry him off. Joey only held onto him tighter at this, making a quiet whining sound.  

“Joey.” Henry sighed and sat back down. Joey took this opportunity to crawl into Henry’s lap, perfectly content despite the fact that he had to fold up his gangly limbs in order to fit. After a few minutes, the others began to wake up. 

“Why am I wearing overalls and part of a Bendy cutout?” Sammy asked, looking down at himself. “Where did I even get these?”

“Allison, what is that on your face?” Susie looked at Allison, rather concerned. 

“I’d ask the same of you,” Allison said. 

“How’d I get this on my head?” Norman pulled the projector off. Wally felt his head and shrieked. 

“I HAVE DOG EARS!”

“IT’S A HEADBAND!” Sammy yelled back. “AND DON’T YELL! WE’RE ALL HUNGOVER!”

“You just yelled, Sammy.” Susie removed herself and Allison from under the table. Wally took the headband off, breathing a sigh of relief. 

“Oh. Oh good.” He laughed nervously. “Man, I was really worried there.”

“You didn’t actually think you’d become half dog, did you?” Susie asked. 

“Well, y’know, we work at Joey Drew Studios.” Wally shrugged slightly, his whole face going red. “Joey’s nearly summoned the devil a million times.”

“17,” Henry said. Everyone turned to look him. 

“17?” Allison repeated, giving him a blank look. 

“He’s tried to summon demons 17 times,” Henry explained. 

“That many?” Joey opened one eye. “You’d think I would have been successful at least once.” Henry gave him a  _look_ and Joey laughed. 

“But that’s beside the point.” Henry turned away from Joey. “What happened last night?”

“I probably taped it. Give me a second.” Norman got up and went in search of his video camera. It didn’t take long to locate it. Once it had been found, they all settled down to see the events. Norman popped the film into a projector and an image appeared on the wall. It was Henry, dancing on a table. Joey had a stack of one dollar bills and was throwing them at the dancing animator, hissing at anyone who tried to do the same. Henry groaned and covered his eyes. 

“Looks like you had fun.”  Sammy said. Wally wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Henry until the camera panned to show him aggressively making out with Shawn in a corner. Allison patted his shoulder comfortingly, but Wally just curled up and started screaming silently.

“Hey, is that me?” Sammy frowned, pointing to a figure in the corner of the frame. 

“Oh, it’s all three of us!” Susie clapped her hands together. The camera panned again, now focusing on Sammy, Allison, and Susie. Sammy was reading something in Latin, “anointing” Allison and Susie with ink. 

“I’m surprised nothing happened from that,” Henry said. 

“He’s not summoning anything.” Joey shrugged. “I think he’s actually reading the script for one of the episodes.”

“…Do I want to ask why you have the script for an episode in Latin?”

“I like practising my Latin.”

Everyone just sort of shrugged it off. Joey was weird. They all understood that. They watched the account of the party for a few more hours. Some other highlights included Grant trying to drunkenly order shrimp from a tuba, Sammy praying to Bendy cutouts, Wally pretending to be Boris, Shawn trying to drink everyone under the table, and Thomas babbling about how much he loved his dog. 

“Well, I’d consider this party a success,” Joey said once it was over. “No one was arrested and no one’s hurt!”

“I hate that that’s your standard.” Henry groaned. 

“I’m gonna go find my clothes,” Sammy grumbled as he got up. “These overalls itch.” 

“We’ll help.” Allison and Susie followed him out. 

“Well, I need coffee.” Norman moved to the coffee pot. “Anyone else want some?” Wally raised his hand from the floor. Joey and Henry both nodded. Henry sighed to himself. He supposed he’d just have to accept it. His life was always going to be weird as long as he was around Joey.


	24. Chapter 24

[One starter and two concepts](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/170842184110/one-starter-and-two-concepts)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“What were you doing in that old house of horrors?”
> 
> “Not the time!” Henry shouted as he and the Toons scrambled into the backseat.
> 
> “He’s right,” Susie said, pointing. “Look!”
> 
> Shawn’s eyes widened as he looked out the window, seeing dark liquid ooze from the windows of the old studio. “Jesus fuck! Is that ink floodin’ the place?”
> 
> “Good thing we all tore up those letters.”
> 
> “Floor it, Wally!” Norman shouted.
> 
> “And to hell with the speed limit!” added Thomas. “The quicker we get away from that place, the better!”
> 
> Not even the fact that there were now nine humans and [six/seven] living cartoon characters in the car made the ex-janitor hesitate to put the pedal to the floor.
> 
> -Something involving the Pina Colada song  
> -Joey accidentally turns everyone into magical boys/girls (NOT the Madoka kind)
> 
> (Also, let’s minimize the angst from now on, K?)

I’m…not sure what you mean by that last thing. If you mean in the prompts, I will happily oblige. 

* * *

Wally wasn’t sure why exactly Henry had called him to the studio. For starters, none of them had stepped foot in that place in literal years. Not to mention, today was date night. He and Shawn had been on their way to dinner when Henry had called. He’d sounded pretty desperate too, so Wally had floored it over there. When they arrived, there was a small collection of people outside. Susie, Norman, Sammy, Thomas, Allison, and Grant were all huddled together, each splattered with ink. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Wally stuck his head out his car window. 

“We were on a date and Henry called us,” Sammy said, obviously not very happy about it. Norman nudged him gently, squeezing his hand. 

“We were having a  _double_ -date,” Susie added, also displeased. “And then we had to make our way out here and when we went in we fell in a puddle of ink and now my dress is ruined.” 

“We can probably get it out,” Allison assured her. 

“Same story for you two?” Shawn looked at Thomas and Grant who just nodded. 

“Joey fucked some stuff up and Henry’s apparently dealing with it,” Grant said dryly. “We were called as backup, I believe, but he decided he could handle it on his own.”

“We were instructed rather firmly not to go in,” Norman said. “Do you think we could hitch a ride back with you?”

“W-We understand if you don’t have enough room,” Allison added quickly. Wally and Shawn exchanged a look before gesturing for the other former employees to get in. Almost as soon as they’d all gotten in, Henry burst out of the studio. Following him were Boris, Alice, Bendy, Charley, Barley, and Edgar. 

“What were you doing in that old house of horrors?” Wally asked, rather wanting answers by this point. 

“Not the time!” Henry shouted as he and the Toons scrambled into the backseat.

“He’s right,” Susie said, pointing. “Look!”

Shawn’s eyes widened as he looked out the window, seeing dark liquid ooze from the windows of the old studio. “Jesus fuck! Is that ink floodin’ the place?”

“Good thing we all tore up those letters.”

“Floor it, Wally!” Norman shouted.

“And to hell with the speed limit!” added Thomas. “The quicker we get away from that place, the better!”

Not even the fact that there were now nine humans and six living cartoon characters in the car made the ex-janitor hesitate to put the pedal to the floor. But he put his foot down anyway, the car screaming away from the studio as the studio began to collapse. 

“WILL SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Shawn yelled. 

“Joey made a deal with a demon and used the pieces of his soul to bring the toons to life,” Henry explained. “He wanted me to come back and take care of them before the sentient ink took over everything.” The car was rather quiet after that. 

“No shit.” Wally finally said. 

“Sounds like something Joey would do.” Thomas nodded. 

“I’m hungry.” Bendy suddenly announced. “Can I have a cheeseburger? Joey says cheeseburgers are nice.”

“I want one too!” Boris piped up.

“We’ll go by McDonalds.” Shawn assured them. “I’m sure we’re all hungry.”

“Especially since  _someone_ ruined all of our date nights.” Susie looked pointedly at Henry.

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” Henry ran a hand over his face. 

“Let Alice stay with me and Alli and I’ll think about it.”

.

.

Wally was cleaning the break room and had the radio on. He was singing along rather loudly and rather badly. Wally didn’t really care. Sammy would give him a hard time for his butchering of the musical language, but Sammy wasn’t there. 

“If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.” He sang loudly, dancing with his mop. “If you´re not into yoga, if you have half a brain. If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape. I´m the love that you´ve looked for, write to me, and escape.” 

By this point, Shawn had come looking for Wally to give him lunch. He paused in the doorway to the break room, watching as Wally danced across the room. Wally did this little butt wiggle thing that Shawn just loved to watch. He sighed and leaned against the door frame. These were the moments he lived for, truly. 

“Looking good.” He said once the song ended. “You really got some moves on you, love.” Wally froze and turned around. 

“How long have you been watching?” He asked, his face going bright red. 

“Long enough.” Shawn walked over and gave Wally a kiss. “Don’t look so embarrassed. I love watching you have fun.”

“Well, gee.” Wally rubbed the back of his head. He and Shawn leaned towards one another. 

“LEAVE ROOM FOR JESUS!” Joey yelled from down the hall. 

“How does he always know?!”

.

.

Why was this his life, Henry wondered. All of the studio employees were standing in the break room, all back to being teenagers, all of them dressed in strange magical attire. They’d somehow attracted the attention of a literal goddess and were now her emissaries in the mortal world. It had all started with Joey watching a lot of Sailor Moon. One of the interns had introduced it to him and Joey had immediately become hooked.  

“There’s just something beautiful about the simple struggle between good and evil.” He said when asked why he was so into it. 

“You’re such a nerd.” Henry sighed. 

“Yes, but you love me.” Joey said brightly. 

“I do.” Henry couldn’t help but smile. At first, Henry had assumed Joey’s obsession with the anime was harmless. Then Joey went and summoned an actual goddess. Freyja, the goddess of love, sex, fertility, war, and death. Henry walked into the break room and found Joey kneeling on the floor in front of a beautiful woman dressed in gold and heavy furs. 

“Joey…What the fuck?” Henry asked, just staring at the scene before him. 

“Ah, Henry!” Joey scrambled to his feet. “I may have…pledged our souls in service to this very fine woman.”

“Are you to be one of my champions?” The woman asked, raising one perfect brow. 

“Uh…Sure.” Henry nodded slowly. “Joey, should I get the others?”

“If you wouldn’t mind.” 

So Henry went and gathered up the other main members of the studio. The literal goddess was met with various reactions, mostly of reverence and terror. Joey got yelled at a bunch for pledging their souls to a literal goddess. 

“I’m not a demon, you know,” Freyja said. “Your souls don’t belong to me. You are simply my champions.”

“What does that entail exactly?” Henry asked, voicing what all of them were thinking. “What do we need to do?”

“You must combat my enemies!” She said, smiling wide. “Fight the scourge of the jotun and those who would compromise the peace of this world!” She stopped, a grave expression on her face. “Will you accept this burden and become my champions?”

The studio employees looked at one another before all agreeing. It would have been terribly rude to deny an actual goddess. They were all there, why not do some good in the world?

“Very well. I bestow upon you the power of the Vanir.” She lifted her hand and the room was bathed in golden light. When it faded, they all immediately noticed that they were younger. 

“Wait, why am I a teenager?” Sammy asked, looking himself over. 

“We’re  _all_ teenagers!” Wally said, looking a tad panicked. 

“I have restored you to the bloom of youth,” Freyja announced. “You will all be able to fight more effectively now.” Henry discreetly looked the others over. They were all considerably more attractive and stronger than they’d actually been as teenagers. Joey especially. Joey had been a bit of a funny looking teenager, but he looked rather good now.

“Thank you, my lady.” Joey bowed. “We appreciate your kind gifts.”

“I shall provide you with money as well.” Freyja added. “I understand that you cannot continue to run your studio in your current forms. Is that correct?”

“…It is.” Henry admitted. 

“Then you shall be provided with all the money you could need so that you will be able to survive while doing my work.” Freyja nodded. “For now, I shall leave you.” Then she was gone, leaving a pile of gold in her place. They were all silent for a moment. 

“So…This is happening.” Norman finally said. “We’re…magical people?”

“Like Sailor Moon.” Joey sighed dreamily. “This is the best thing ever!”

“Something tells me you didn’t think this through.” Grant sighed. 

“I did!”


	25. Chapter 25

> ubmitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -None of the Toons knew who the woman was–before her, Joey and Murray were the only humans who’d been inside the studio for almost thirty years (they all agreed the clones didn’t count). But they would fulfill her last wish. Her baby would be safe with them.  
> -Something based on [this](http://dogtit.tumblr.com/post/154875601013/emily-oh-my-god-i-love-this-dramatic-fucker-lena).  
> -The crew goes to see Black Panther. (Since it’s coming out tomorrow. :) )
> 
> * * *
> 
>  

A woman had entered the studio, clutching a baby to her chest. The toons had been quick to appear, all of them scared because the woman was bleeding fairly heavily from a wound in her side. She’d held out a baby to them, then fell to the ground and died. None of the Toons knew who the woman was–before her, Joey and Murray were the only humans who’d been inside the studio for almost thirty years (they all agreed the clones didn’t count). But they would fulfil her last wish. Her baby would be safe with them.

“Do any of us actually know how to raise a baby?” Alice asked as Bendy and Boris bounced the baby. 

“We can just ask Papa Drew if we have trouble.” Bendy shrugged. “It’ll be fine!” Alice rolled her eyes, going to find Joey or Murray. She passed by the failed clone of Sammy, who was painting pentagrams on the wall again. 

“Bad Sammy!” She scolded him. “It takes forever to clean that off!” Sammy froze where he was, one finger on the wall. Then, keeping eye contact with her, he kept drawing. 

“Sammy!” 

“I’ll take care of this.” Murray appeared, brandishing a broom. “Shoo! Get!” He poked at Sammy, who hissed and ran away.

“It’s like dealing with racoons,” Murray muttered before turning to Alice. “Anyway, what can I do for you, Alice?”

“Boris, Bendy, and I found a baby and we don’t know how to take care of it,” Alice said. 

“You….found a baby,” Murray repeated. “How did you find a baby?”

“A lady came in here with a baby, then died.” 

Murray stared at her, unsure what to make of the situation. 

“Oookay.” He finally said. “I’ll go talk to Joey about this. Bring the baby to his office.” Alice nodded and ran off. Murray went to Joey’s office to inform him of the new development. 

“Mr Drew?” He knocked on the door. 

“Come in!” Joey said. Murray opened the door and entered. Joey was crouching in a pentagram on the floor. He’d been trying to figure out a way to stabilize the clones for a while now, which varying levels of success. 

“So, Alice came to me and she said she and the others found a baby,” Murray said. 

“A baby?” Joey looked up, frowning. “Where did they find a baby?”

“Apparently a woman showed up and gave them her baby before she died.”

“Oh dear.” Joey quickly got up. “Should we contact the woman’s family?”

“I don’t think she has any family.” The toons entered, the baby now asleep in Boris’ arms. 

“So we’re the only ones who can take care of the poor dear.” Joey pursed his lips. “This is hardly the place to raise a baby.”

“But they don’t have anywhere else to go,” Bendy said. “We gotta!” Joey began to wring his hands. He didn’t know how to take care of a baby.

“I’ve handled a lot of babies in my time,” Murray assured him. “So I can take care of the little one if it comes to it.”

“Well, alright.” Joey nodded slowly. “But if at any point it looks like we might not be able to take care of them, we’re taking them to a hospital.”

“Yes, Papa Drew.” The toons said together, already giggling and planning what they were going to do with the baby. They’d never had a little sibling before. It was all very exciting. 

.

.

Joey was holding a boombox outside Henry’s apartment and Sammy wanted to kill him. Joey was singing at the top of his lungs along with the music while Henry watched from their window. 

“He’s still out there.” Henry sipped his coffee. “I think he might be about to breakdance.” Sammy groaned, trying to focus on the TV. Maybe if they ignored Joey he would go away. 

“Yep. He’s dancing.” Henry nodded. “Oh. Now he’s crying and dancing.”

“Henry, come sit,” Sammy begged. “We shouldn’t encourage him.”

“He brought a bouquet.” Pause. “He’s stamping on the bouquet. You know, this is actually kind of entertaining.” 

Sammy held his head in his hands, silently screaming. He just wanted a nice evening with his boyfriend. Why did Joey have to do this?

“Sammy, he’s got a Celine Dion CD.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Sammy stood up. “Fine. I’ll bring him in.”

“I mean, you don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do.”

 

.

.

“We’re going to be late!” 

“Norman, please, we’re not going to be late,” Joey assured the projectionist. The studio crew was headed to the premiere of the Black Panther movie and Norman was ecstatic. He was the biggest Marvel fan in the studio after all, although Joey was quickly coming in at a close second. They were walking to the theatre and Norman kept speedwalking ahead of the main group.

“I can understand why he’s excited,” Henry said. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about the movie.”

“Not to mention, there are so few black led superhero movies.” Norman pointed out, already on the move again. “So this is something big.”

“I’m so excited!” Susie squealed, clapping her hands together. “I love Marvel movies!”

“It does sound like it’ll be fun,” Sammy admitted. 

“Oh my God! Sammy’s showing emotion!” Wally gasped. 

“Ha ha, very funny.” Sammy swatted at Wally’s head. Henry couldn’t help but laugh a little. 

“You two better not fight during the movie,” Joey said. “I won’t have us getting banned from another movie theatre.”

“We won’t.” Sammy and Wally chorused. Norman had arrived at the ticket booth by this point and was buying the tickets for them. They’d gotten there early so they wouldn’t have to wait in line. 

“Everyone take a ticket.” Norman handed them out once the others caught up with him. “Now, shall we?” They all nodded and entered.


	26. Chapter 26

> [Dunno if you saw my other story starter, but…](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/171031834360/dunno-if-you-saw-my-other-story-starter-but)
> 
> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> Dropping to her knees, Susie pulled [Allison/Shawn] close.
> 
> “Shhh, shhh, it’s OK. I know it hurts.”
> 
> The [voice actress/toymaker] whimpered softly. “Make it stop…”
> 
> With great care, Susie placed [her/him] on [her/his] stomach, then looked up at the other two present.
> 
> “Thomas, guard the door. Wally, get a washcloth and some water. Once they emerge, we’ll have to clean off the blood.”
> 
> Nodding, the two men obeyed. Turning back to [Allison/Shawn], Susie carefully removed [her/his] shirt, exposing [her/his] back.
> 
> “It may hurt right now,” she whispered softly. “But once your wings come out, it’ll all be OK. Trust me, I know.”
> 
> Removing her shirt to reveal a modified tank top underneath, she let her own ____-feathered wings emerge.

I did indeed see your other one. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it, though. I don’t feel confident enough to write out your song. I hope that’s alright.

* * *

Shawn normally didn’t meddle with whatever Joey developed. He wasn’t terribly religious, but something about Joey’s experiments just seemed like an affront to God. Sure, he wasn’t hurting anyone, but it was just…weird. He knew Susie had undergone an experiment to be closer to Alice. He wasn’t sure what Susie had agreed to, but she was a lot happier now. That was one reason he hadn’t objected to the experiments. They made people happy. Who was he to question something that made people happy?

“Hey, Shawn?” Wally poked his head into his boyfriend’s workspace. 

“Yeah?” Shawn looked up from his work, a paintbrush clenched between his teeth. 

“Oh good, you’re here.” Wally entered, fidgeting a little more than usual. Shawn frowned at this. 

“Wally…Why’re you so jittery? Did something happen?”

“Um…Kinda?” Wally smiled nervously. “You know how you said the coffee this morning tasted funny?” Shawn’s eyes widened and he slowly put his paintbrush down, his hands shaking. 

“What did that bastard do this time?” Shawn asked, hoping his voice wasn’t shaking as much as his hands. 

“Some of the concoction meant for Susie got into the coffee.” Thomas appeared behind Wally, holding a washcloth and a bucket of water. “So you’re gonna be going through some changes pretty soon.”

“But I-” Shawn took a step forward but faltered as he felt a wave of heat pass through his body. Wally ran to his side, holding him up as Shawn’s knees tried to buckle under him.

“I got here as quickly as I could!” Susie came running in. “Has it started yet?” Thomas gestured to Shawn, still being held up by Wally. 

“Let him go,” Susie said. Wally gave her a confused look, holding his boyfriend even closer. 

“Wally.” Susie’s voice was soft and gentle. “I want to help him. I want to help both of you.” Wally hesitated, but let Shawn go. The toymaker crumpled to the floor, starting to sob a little. Dropping to her knees, Susie pulled Shawn close.

“Shhh, shhh, it’s OK. I know it hurts.”

The toymaker whimpered softly. “Make it stop…”

With great care, Susie placed him on his stomach, then looked up at the other two present.

“Thomas, guard the door. Wally, get a washcloth and some water. Once they emerge, we’ll have to clean off the blood.”

Nodding, the two men obeyed. Turning back to Shawn, Susie carefully removed his shirt, exposing his back.

“It may hurt right now,” she whispered softly. “But once your wings come out, it’ll all be OK. Trust me, I know.”

Removing her shirt to reveal a modified tank top underneath, she let her own white-feathered wings emerge. Shawn’s eyes widened. 

“So that’s what it did to you.” Thomas glanced back. “We were all wondering.” 

“Oh hush.” Susie waved a hand towards Thomas but kept her gaze on Shawn. Already there were bumps on his shoulder blades. 

“He’s gonna be okay, right?” Wally asked, kneeling beside Susie and Shawn with the washcloth in hand. 

“He’ll be fine, sweetie,” Susie assured him. “It might take a little for him to get used to it, but I promise he’ll be alright.” 

“Okay…” Wally handed her the washcloth and went to retrieve the bucket from beside Thomas. The bumps were becoming almost obscenely large now, and Shawn was openly crying. It hurt more than he’d ever imagined. Then the wings burst through. Shawn screamed. Wally quickly hurried back to hold Shawn’s hand. 

“It’s okay. You’re okay.” Susie soothed him, washing his back off with the washcloth. 

“They look real nice,” Wally said quietly. They weren’t very big yet, but they would be at some point. 

“Do you feel better?” Susie asked.  Shawn let out a shaking breath. He did feel better now that they were out. 

“Yeah.” He managed to squeak out. 

“Good.” Susie patted his head gently. “You should probably head home for the day. Do you want me to go explain the situation to Joey.”

“Please.” Wally helped Shawn to his feet, draping his coat around his boyfriend’s shoulders. Shawn was covered in sweat and his face was tearstained. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Wally asked as he led Shawn out. 

“I’m feeling better now, I promise.” Shawn managed a shaky smile. “Plus, it’s kinda cool, you know? Never thought I’d end up with wings. Think I’d be able to fly?”

“Maybe once your wings get bigger.” Wally smiled as well. 

“Sounds like a plan.”


	27. Joey's Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a prompt, but still something for MsFaust

For [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA) , since I couldn’t complete one of their requests. 

Inspired by [these](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/170697868865/halfusek-inspired-by-this-post)[ posts](http://adobe-outdesign.tumblr.com/post/168520830232/au-where-henry-did-not-leave-and-everytime-joey). 

* * *

Having Henry back at the studio was the best thing that ever could have happened to the crew of Joey Drew Studios. Joey was batshit crazy and none of them could do anything to control him. But Henry…Henry was different. None of them were sure how the tiny animator was able to control Joey, but he managed it nonetheless. As long as Henry was there, Joey couldn’t get away with anything. He tried, sure, but Henry caught him every time. 

At present, Susie, Joey and Henry were sitting on a couch in the break room. Henry was on one end, Susie on the other, with Joey in the middle. Susie was naturally a little nervous being this close to Joey, and her anxiety only increased as Joey scooted closer to her. Her boss turned and smiled at her once they were touching. 

“Have you ever thought about how amazing it would be to bring these characters to life?” Joey asked, his smile becoming increasingly deranged. “Imagine, being able to meet the Alice Angel live and in person! All you’d have to do is -”

“Joey, corner.” Henry didn’t even look up from his magazine. Joey’s expression soured, but he got up and stomped over to the corner. Painted on the wall was a list of things Joey wasn’t allowed to do, which included killing, torturing, sacrificing other people, summoning Satan, lying, and buying more ink machines. It was labelled Shame Corner in big letters. 

“I’m so glad we have you here, Henry,” Sammy said, grinning from ear to ear. 

“Still don’t get how you do that.” Wally leaned on his mop. “He won’t listen to anybody else.”

“I’ve been putting up with his shit for a long time.” Henry turned the page of his magazine. “He knows I’m not afraid to ground him.” Susie kept staring at her boss, completely dumbfounded by Henry’s abilities. He really was something. 


	28. Chapter 28

[You know what to do…](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/171144417285/you-know-what-to-do)

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -I’m Still Standing by Elton John  
> -Your take on the clone concept (I gave an example in We Were Your Creations)  
> -Something in the Liquid verse (in Drops of Reality)
> 
> And don’t forget the new rule regarding prompts from me!

I’ll do my best. ^^”

I’m sorry this took so long. School started picking up and I was having writer’s block.

* * *

It was karaoke night and the former employees of Joey Drew Studios were gathered for their annual ‘Fuck You Joey’ celebration. And in honour of this momentous occasion, they were going to sing ‘I’m Still Standing’. 

“Like, all of us together?” Wally asked. 

“All of us. Together.” Sammy nodded. 

“It’ll be fun!” Susie said. Henry was already cueing it up. Wally was ushered on stage along with the rest of them as they prepared to sing. Wally panicked a little as the microphone was shoved at him.

“You could never know what it’s like.” He began to sing weakly. “ Your blood like winter freezes just like ice. And there’s a cold lonely light that shines from you. You’ll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use.”

“And did you think this fool could never win.” Sammy joined in, slapping Wally’s back as the janitor’s voice grew stronger. 

“Well look at me, I’m coming back again.” Now Henry stepped in, along with Susie. “I got a taste of love in a simple way. And if you need to know while I’m still standing you just fade away.”

All four of them belted out the chorus together. “Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did. Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid. I’m still standing after all this time. Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mindI’m still standing yeah yeah yeah. I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah.”

“Once I never could hope to win. You starting down the road leaving me again.” Thomas took the microphone now, smiling slightly as Grant drunkenly slurred along with him. “The threats you made were meant to cut me down. And if our love was just a circus you’d be a clown by now.” 

Pretty soon all of them were singing together, with various levels of talent. Some of them were pretty drunk, honestly. 

_You know I’m still standing better than I ever did_  
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid  
I’m still standing after all this time  
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

_I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah  
I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah_

_Don’t you know I’m still standing better than I ever did_  
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid  
I’m still standing after all this time  
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

_I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah  
I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah_

_I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah  
I’m still standing yeah yeah yeah_

.

.

Make no mistake, Joey Drew gladly would have sacrificed his employees if the need had arisen, but it was just so much easier to experiment on clones. He could get more if he messed up. He liked being able to have backups. He was a bastard, yes, but he was a thorough bastard. The Sammy and Susie clones were the most difficult to deal with, due to their volatile personalities. He often had to chase them down in order to get them back under control. Until, of course, one of the Susie clones had figured she wasn’t the real Susie and had killed all the others. That had been a bit of a disaster, honestly. Every time he made a new Susie clone, the renegade one had destroyed them. He considered getting Susie back, but thought better of it. The clone would probably kill her too. 

“Maybe this was all a mistake.” He muttered to himself as he went over his experiment logs. That thought was quickly dismissed, though. No. He had to perfect this ritual. He had to make this work. 

“Papa Drew?” Bendy stuck his head in. “That scary lady’s at it again. Alice and Boris are hiding in the music man’s office, but I don’t think it’ll help.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Joey got up and patted Bendy’s head. It looked like Susie needed to be corralled into the lower levels again. 

“Alice and Boris are gonna be okay, right?” Bendy said in a small voice. 

“Of course.” Joey gave him a big smile. They could be replaced if it really came to it. He headed down to the second floor to take care of Susie. 

.

.

The Dark Place wasn’t as terrible as some people thought it was. Yes, people lacked a physical form, but they all liked being around one another. There was a camaraderie that came with being a part of the ink that you couldn’t get anywhere else. Not to mention, they had a far simpler life than they had before. They didn’t need to worry about jobs, or getting sleep, or eating. It was nice. They could be around each other all the time without worrying about anything.

Those in the ink occasionally peeked out to check out the situation in the world above. Most people didn’t pay them any mind as long as they stayed in the puddles. Joey would just poke them with his foot if they were in the way and they quickly moved. It was a simple existence. They were all a little irritated at Joey for doing this to them without their consent, but they were happy with the result.


	29. Chapter 29

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -Inside was what could only be called a mass restraining order, with all his former employees listed on it. There was no way he’d be able to use a single one of them to accomplish his goals.  
> -“If we end up getting superpowers, I’m gonna say I told you so.”
> 
> -A continuation of [this](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/164976189965/ooh-i-got-an-idea-what-if-henry-was-on-the)

Joey was scheming. He was finally going to begin his experiments. He would make his toons live. Yes, most of his employees were gone, but he could always call them back. In fact, that was what he was planning on doing. It had been so long. Surely they would be willing to come back if he wrote a convincing enough letter to them. Henry especially would look back on their relationship fondly, he was sure of it. He’d always been able to control Henry’s emotions when the need arose. He sat down to pen a letter to Wally. He needed a good Boris first of all. He worked for a few minutes before realizing he hadn’t gotten the mail. So he got up and retrieved the mail. Bills, bills….a legal note? Joey frowned and slit it open with his letter opener. Inside was what could only be called a mass restraining order, with all his former employees listed on it. There was no way he’d be able to use a single one of them to accomplish his goals. Joey gritted his teeth and threw the letter on the desk. 

“Damn them!” He snarled. “Damn them all!” Well, it seemed he’d have to get creative. He still had their DNA, didn’t he? His snarl quickly turned into a smile. Yes, he could still execute his plans. He would make history. 

.

.

“If we end up getting superpowers, I’m gonna say I told you so.”

“Oh shut up, Franks,” Sammy muttered as they sat down in the circle. Joey had coerced both Wally and Sammy to take part in a ritual that he wanted to test out. Sammy wasn’t thrilled by the prospect, but Wally was excited that he could possibly gain superpowers from this. 

“Now, I promise this won’t hurt,” Joey said as he pulled out his book. “You might feel a tingling sensation, though.”

“Aces,” Sammy rolled his eyes. 

“Now, Sammy, you agreed to this.”

“C’mon! We’ll get superpowers!” 

“I can’t promise that, Wally.  You know that.”

“Look, let’s just get this started.” Sammy ran a hand through his hair. “I want to get this over with. I’ve got work to do.” Joey gave them both a big grin and began chanting. Sammy felt deeply uncomfortable as the shadows of the room began to swirl and the flames of the candles burned higher. 

“I feel weird.” Wally’s voice sounded strange. Sammy looked over. Wally’s features seemed to distort as Sammy watched, and soon everything went black. 

When Sammy woke up, it was to the excited whoops of one Wally Franks. 

“What the fuck happened?” Sammy sat up, rubbing his head. Wally looked over at Sammy with a big grin on his face. 

“Sammy! Sammy, I have Flash powers!” Wally grabbed Sammy and shook him. In fact, he shook him so fast that Sammy ended up vomiting on Wally’s shoes. 

“Whoops.” Wally laughed nervously. “Still working on my powers, sorry.”

“Did…Did anything happen to me?” Sammy asked, wiping his mouth. 

“Why don’t you take a look?” Joey handed him a mirror. Sammy looked himself over. He didn’t look any different. Except for…

“WINGS?!”

.

.

Bendy led Henry down the stairs and to the lower levels where Alice resided. Sammy followed along behind them, a little put off by the idea of going into the depths of the studio. 

“Won’t the False Angel be angry with us for trespassing?” He asked. 

“Alice isn’t gonna mind the company,” Bendy said dismissively. “She gets lonely down there.”

“She is not who I was referring to.”

“Oh! You mean Susie!” Bendy said. “Oh, yeah, she might get mad.” He screwed up his face in concern. That was something he hadn’t considered. Susie could be a little volatile. 

“Susie’s here?” Henry asked. 

“She was brought here not long after I was.” Sammy’s voice was soft, almost mournful. “I wish I could have saved her.”

“I’ll save all of you. I promise.” Henry gave him an encouraging smile and patted Sammy’s shoulder. They kept heading down until they reached a floor with an elevator. Speakers in the walls crackled to life, and a woman’s voice echoed throughout the room. 

“You’ve brought him, then?” Her voice was deep and sultry. 

“Bring him down!” Another lighter voice added. “Joey won’t come to Level 9, so we’ll be safe there!”

“Thanks, Al!” Bendy gave the speakers a mock salute before pressing a button to open the elevator doors. Sammy, Henry, and Bendy got into the elevator and Henry pressed the button for floor 9. Sammy was fidgeting rather nervously, running his hand over his head as though he was trying to smooth his hair. 

“Calm down, Sammy-Boy!” Bendy slapped his back. “I’m sure Susie won’t be angry!” 

“You didn’t hear our last argument,” Sammy muttered. 

“It’ll be fine.” Henry tried to assure him. They rode the elevator down to Floor 9, where Alice and Susie were waiting. Upon seeing them, Alice bounded over and jumped onto Henry. 

“It’s so good to see you!” She squealed. “I didn’t think you’d actually come!” 

“Geez, Al, did you have that little faith in my letter?” Bendy scoffed. Sammy and Susie stared at each other, Sammy shifting uncomfortably. 

“It’s good to see you too, Alice.” Henry patted her head. 

“You’ve come to fix things, haven’t you?” Susie turned her attention to Henry. For a moment, her voice almost sounded pleading. 

“I aim to.” Henry nodded, returning her gaze. Susie nodded and stood back. 

“Then let’s get to work.”


	30. Chapter 30

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“Oh my God, you’re all a bunch of nerds.”  
> -“Do I even want to know what you’re doing on the ceiling?”  
> -Thomas had been rather surprised when Henry suggested tonight’s movie be a horror film, but given how he’d regaled the group with the story of how he’d rescued living versions of the characters of The Bendy Show, he probably wasn’t so easily frightened any more.
> 
> “Hey, don’t hog the popcorn!”
> 
> “Oh, relax,” Shawn said, taking the bowl from Wally’s hands. “Susie and Alice made plenty.”
> 
> “And we bought ice cream and soda, too,” added Bendy. “We’re all outta bowls, though. Maybe we could use glasses and make ice cream floats.”
> 
> (Just in case you forgot, the rules for my prompts are not a one-time thing.)

I’ll do my best. 

* * *

It had been a long day for Joey Drew. He’d been in meetings all day, which he never enjoyed, and Grant had dragged him through a lengthy financial meeting. He collapsed into his desk chair and stared up at the ceiling. It was at that moment that his eyes met those of Bendy’s. Both blinked.  

“Do I even want to know what you’re doing on the ceiling?” Joey asked, smiling tiredly. 

“Probably not.” Bendy smiled back, rather sheepish. Joey sighed and let the little demon crawl out of the office, still on the ceiling. He suspected Samy was going to be very angry with him very soon. 

.

.

Thomas had been rather surprised when Henry suggested tonight’s movie be a horror film, but given how he’d regaled the group with the story of how he’d rescued living versions of the characters of The Bendy Show, he probably wasn’t so easily frightened anymore.

“Hey, don’t hog the popcorn!”

“Oh, relax,” Shawn said, taking the bowl from Wally’s hands. “Susie and Alice made plenty.”

“And we bought ice cream and soda, too,” added Bendy. “We’re all outta bowls, though. Maybe we could use glasses and make ice cream floats.”

“I haven’t had time to clean,” Henry said sheepishly. “Things have been a bit hectic.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” Thomas thumped him on the back. Grant was already sitting on the couch, cleaning his glasses while Susie, Alice, and Allison laid on the floor and giggled. 

“So, we’re watching Sinister?” Grant asked as Bendy and Boris began to make up ice cream floats. “This seems like a bad idea.” 

“It’ll be fine,” Henry said, trying to make sure the toons didn’t make a mess. “Why don’t you start it up? We’ll make the floats for everyone.” Grant shrugged and started the movie, snuggling up to Thomas. Wally and Shawn slowly stopped fighting over the popcorn, keeping it between them as they watched with rapt attention. As it turned out, Grant had been right. No one was okay by the end of the movie, especially not the toons. 

“Why did we watch this?!” Shawn moaned as he tried to console a hysterical Wally. Allison and Susie were both sobbing and clinging to one another. The toons had formed a huddle in a corner and were all rocking back and forth and muttering to themselves. 

“Sorry sorry.” Henry grimaced. In retrospect, he might have been a bit desensitized to horror after saving everyone from the studio. 

“Why don’t we watch Coco?” He suggested. “That one’s fun and happy.”

“We’re going to cry again, aren’t we?” Thomas asked flatly. 

“Yes. But it’ll be good crying!”

“WIll there be music?” Boris looked up at Henry with big eyes. 

“Yeah, buddy.” Henry ruffled Boris’ fur. 

Coco did end up going better, although everyone was bawling by the end of it. It was good crying, though.


	31. Chapter 31

Starter and Song  
Story starter brought to you by Criminal Minds:  
—————-  
Everyone looked at their copy of the list.

Henry ____  
Wallace ‘Wally’ Franks  
Samuel ‘Sammy’ Lawrence  
Susan ‘Susie’ Campbell  
Norman Polk  
Shawn Flynn  
Allison Pendle  
Thomas Connor  
Grant Cohen

There were several more names as well, some of which had check marks beside them.

“The people on this list are commonly referred to as the Sillyvision Survivors, because none of them went missing after the studio closed. We’ve already interviewed a few of them to see if they know anything about our UnSub, but we didn’t get much useful information.”  
—————-  
Song: Music of the Night (Bendy & Alice)

I fucking love Criminal Minds. However, I don’t know how to write the characters, so enjoy General FBI Characters TM. 

Since the mass disappearance of many of the employees from Joey Drew Studios, law enforcement’s attention had been firmly on anything involving satanic worship and the cartoons from the studio. The original culprit of the disappearances, Joey Drew, had been found dead a year ago, so that was one case closed. However, a copycat killer had arisen. People were being found near the old studio, mutilated to look like the characters Joey Drew’s studio had produced. Which was why the behavioural analysis unit had been called in. The head agent had called a meeting to discuss what they were going to do about this. 

“What kind of leads do we have?” One agent asked. 

“Well, if you would direct your attention to the list Miss Lopez handed out.” The head agent gestured to the papers. Everyone looked at their copy of the list.

Henry Ross  
Wallace ‘Wally’ Franks  
Samuel ‘Sammy’ Lawrence  
Susan ‘Susie’ Campbell  
Norman Polk  
Shawn Flynn  
Allison Pendle  
Thomas Connor  
Grant Cohen

There were several more names as well, some of which had check marks beside them.

“The people on this list are commonly referred to as the Sillyvision Survivors,” The head agent explained. “Because none of them went missing after the studio closed. We’ve already interviewed a few of them to see if they know anything about our UnSub, but we didn’t get much useful information.”

”Mr Lawrence just said Joey to every question.” Their tech analyst, Lopez, said. “I think he was being difficult.” 

“In any case,” The head agent rested his hands on the table. “They’re the closest thing to a lead we’ve got. They all knew Joey, and if the unsub was part of the studio, they probably know him.”

“When do we ship out?”

“In an hour. Everyone get ready.”

.

.

Alice stood before a dark cave. She was a young angel, newly created and curious about the world the archangels had told her to stay away from. They’d warned her of a demon named Bendy, who they promised would try to steal her away and strip her of her grace. She couldn’t help but want to know more about the demon. Surely he couldn’t be that bad. And if he was, she would simply leave. 

“Hello?” She said, her voice shaking. “Is anyone there.”

“Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defences.” The demon appeared from the entrance to the cave, drawing closer to the trembling angel. Her eyes widened as he drew closer. She’d never expected him to have such a beautiful voice. 

“Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour. Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender.” Bendy held his hand out and Alice took it, allowing Bendy the draw her closer to his chest. “Turn your face away from the garish light of day. Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light. And listen to the music of the night.” Alice found herself enraptured as Bendy led her deeper into the cave, filled with glittering relics of ages long past. Scattered about were pictures of her, obviously drawn by him. Had she been in possession of all her faculties, she might have been put off by this, but she was so caught up in his song that she saw only him. 

“Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams. Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before.” He crooned, his voice beginning to soar as he twirled her around. “Close your eyes, let your spirit start to soar! And you’ll live as you’ve never lived before.” She looked into his eyes and saw such wonders there. They promised a life unlike anything she’d had before. He promised her pleasures the likes of which she’d never experienced. 

He smiled and continued, his voice soft once more. “Softly, deftly, music shall surround you. Feel it, hear it closing in around you. Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind. In this darkness which you know you cannot fight. The darkness of the music of the night.” 

She hesitated as he gestured for her to follow him deeper. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to see what he had to offer. He led her to a throne, made of white gold and offset with rubies and onyx. She marvelled at it before he gently sat her down, hands on her shoulders as he continued to sing.

“Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be. Only then can you belong to me.” The last sentence was whispered in her ear, sending shivers up her spine. 

“Floating, falling, sweet intoxication. Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation.” He continued, soft and inviting. “Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in. To the power of the music that I write. The power of the music of the night.” He walked around to kneel before her, her hands clasped in his. “You alone can make my song take flight. Help me make the music of the night.”

“I’ll do it.” She said before she could stop herself. Bendy’s smile widened and before she knew what was happening, he was kissing her. She would never return to Heaven again.


	32. Chapter 32

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“I came back because Susie made me promise to save you and Boris,” Henry said. “Alice–the real Alice, not that madwoman who calls herself an angel–is safe with her.”
> 
> “What about us?” asked [Charley/Barley/Edgar] nervously.
> 
> “I didn’t know he brought you to life as well,” Henry admitted. “But you don’t deserve to be stuck here either.” He held out a hand to his new companions. “Now come on. We’re all getting out of here. Together.”  
> -MWoB/Black Out/Everything’s Relative ‘omake’ (do as many of these as you like)

Sorry this took so long. It’s been pretty crazy lately.

* * *

Henry had come back for a reason. He’d made a promise and he kept his promises. But Bendy didn’t know what Henry’s reasons were. He assumed Henry was like Joey, a cruel creator who cared nothing for the cartoons he’d created. And so he made Henry’s life as difficult as possible while the former animator was in the studio. Until that is, he had Henry cornered in the lowest levels. Boris had been taken by the woman calling herself Alice Angel and Bendy was desperate. He had the Butcher Gang at his back, the perfect ones, as his backup. 

“Why are you here?” The demon demanded, his form imperfect and monstrous. “Creators ruin everything! It would have been fine if you just hadn’t come back!”

“Ben, yelling at him isn’t going to get Boris back.” Charley put a hand on Bendy’s shoulder. 

“Let go of me!” Bendy shrugged his hand away. “I gotta do something!” 

“No, he deserves an explanation.” Henry agreed. “I haven’t told any of you anything and that’s not fair.” The toons seemed rather surprised by this response. 

“Thought you’d be angry.” Barley rumbled. “We been makin’ your life a right Hell.”

“Given what Joey did to all of you, I don’t blame you for being cautious of creators.” Henry offered a small smile. 

“So. Why are you here?” Bendy demanded. 

“I came back because Susie made me promise to save you and Boris,” Henry said. “Alice–the real Alice, not that madwoman who calls herself an angel–is safe with her.”

“What about us?” asked Edgar nervously.

“I didn’t know he brought you to life as well,” Henry admitted. “But you don’t deserve to be stuck here either.” He held out a hand to his new companions. “Now come on. We’re all getting out of here. Together.”

“Promise?” Bendy turned back to his on model form, his voice small. 

“Promise.”

Bendy smiled and took Henry’s hand. This time, things would be different. 

.

.

Having superpowers wasn’t exactly everything Wally had dreamed of. He’d always hoped he’d get a cool power like heat vision or super speed or even super strength. But no, he had the power to change his size. It wasn’t too bad if he thought about it. There were worse powers he could have ended up with. He had to admit, though, he was a little jealous of Grant’s heat vision. 

“You’re staring,” Grant said as they moved through the hallways. 

“I thought you couldn’t see!” Wally stammered. 

“I can feel you staring,” Grant replied. “So  _why_  are you staring?”

“I dunno.” Wally shrugged his shoulders. Grant turned back and fixed Wally with a look of quiet disapproval that chilled the former janitor to his very core. 

“Okay okay!” He put his hands up. “I’m jealous of your cool powers!” 

“They’re inconvenient, more than anything else.” Grant turned away. 

“Let’s not complain,” Thomas said. “We got what we got. Let’s just be satisfied with it and move on.”

“Being able to turn into an animal ain’t half bad.” Shawn said. “I’ll probably never be able to eat meat again, though.”

“You were never much of a carnivore, were you?” Wally asked. 

“Eh, I guess not.” Shawn shrugged. 

“If you’re done, we should get moving.” Grant sounded very much like a scolding teacher in that moment. Shawn and Wally grumbled, but began moving once more.


	33. Chapter 33

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> -“Damn, Joey’s really upset about this,” Henry remarked. “Then again, if I found out someone was kidnapping Drew World guests and turning them into ink monsters, I’d be furious too.”  
> “You’d think Drew would have been the one behind it,” commented ____. “At least that lunatic didn’t try and use any of the park workers. Or anyone here, for that matter.”  
> “Now I’m really glad Joey said no when ____ suggested we help out there,” Wally agreed. “Never thought I’d say it, but I feel a lot safer working in the studio.”  
> -“It’s impossible to have more than one on-model instance of a character at a time,” Alice said. “Their soul gets split between different bodies, with one being in proper shape while the others…not so much.”  
> “An’ that copy of Alice was usin’ our clones to keep herself stable,” added Barley. “If she ever got ‘er hands on Alice, she’d prob'ly try and absorb the rest of ‘er soul and take ‘er place.”  
> “But if everyone here is a creation of the machine, then who or what are the Prophet and the Projectionist supposed to be?”  
> -Glee club/A Capella group AU

Let’s see what I can do.

* * *

Joey had opened Drew World less than a month ago and already it was plagued with scandal. Some sick fuck had been kidnapping Drew World guests and turning them into inky abominations, resembling the beloved characters from Joey Drew Studios. Joey was absolutely livid about this. At the moment, he was on a call to the police department in his office. Even in the music department, his yells were clearly audible. It was break time and a good portion of the studio employees were gathered in Sammy’s office to have lunch. 

“Damn, Joey’s really upset about this,” Henry remarked. “Then again, if I found out someone was kidnapping Drew World guests and turning them into ink monsters, I’d be furious too.”

“You’d think Drew would have been the one behind it,” commented Sammy. “At least that lunatic didn’t try and use any of the park workers. Or anyone here, for that matter.”

“Now I’m really glad Joey said no when Susie suggested we help out there,” Wally agreed. “Never thought I’d say it, but I feel a lot safer working in the studio.”

“Crowds make me nervous anyway.” Norman rumbled, shrugging slightly. A moment or so later, the yelling from Joey’s office stopped. They all listened as stomping footsteps made their way down to the music department. Joey stormed into Sammy’s office. 

“Sammy, I need a cigarette.” He muttered. 

“Weren’t you quitting?” Henry asked. 

“Yes, I am. But not today.” Joey slumped into a chair opposite Wally. Sammy dug out a cigarette and handed it to Joey, who lit it with a match and took a satisfied drag. 

“This has been a shitty week.” The studio head sighed. 

“Have the cops caught the guy?” Wally asked. 

“Not yet,” Joey said. “Although they keep telling me they’re days away from making an arrest. I’m starting to think I might have to institute some…security measures.”

“Is that why you asked for my blood last week?” Norman raised an eyebrow. “Because I ain’t givin’ up my soul for this, much as I’d like to see this guy caught.”

“No soul required.” Joey waved a hand in a comforting gesture. “I just need a mindless bruiser for this.” The character of the Projectionist wasn’t a particularly violent individual, but he’d have to be in this situation. Joey would get started on that tomorrow. 

“Well, at least the toons are doing well.” Henry pointed out. 

“This whole thing has Alice spooked, though.” Susie stuck her head in, not one to be left out of the conversation. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to go comfort her.”

“Thank you for that, Susie.” Joey smiled tiredly towards her. “I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“Well aren’t you a charmer?” Susie snorted. “Anyway, I’m heading over to the park with Allison.”

“Stay safe.” The men in the office chorused as she left. Joey took another drag from his cigarette. One way or another, there would be an end to this. Even if he had to catch the culprit himself. 

.

.

Henry had seen a lot of things since he’d arrived at the old studio. He’d thought he’d seen it all. Then the elevator crashed and when he woke up, be was being tended to by an on-model version of Alice Angel. Behind her were on-model versions of the Butcher Gang. Edgar was helpfully holding the bandages, passing them to Alice every so often. 

“What on Earth?” Henry mumbled. 

“Looks who’s back in the land of the living!” Charley grinned and folded his arms. 

“We were getting worried about you.” Alice smiled a tad nervously. 

“Didn’t you drop me down the elevator?” Henry asked, moving so he was sitting up properly. 

“Oh no, that was the other Alice.” Alice shook her head. “I would never do something like that!”

“How are there multiple versions of you? And why doesn’t she look like you?” Part of Henry wondered if this was some sort of dream, brought on by the fall. But he could feel Alice’s hands as she wound the bandages around him. They were cool to the touch, and a bit rubbery. 

“It’s impossible to have more than one on-model instance of a character at a time,” Alice said. “Their soul gets split between different bodies, with one being in proper shape while the others…not so much.”

“An’ that copy of Alice was usin’ our clones to keep herself stable,” added Barley. “If she ever got ‘er hands on Alice, she’d prob'ly try and absorb the rest of ‘er soul and take ‘er place.”

“But if everyone here is a creation of the machine, then who or what are the Prophet and the Projectionist supposed to be?” Henry asked. 

“Well, we think part of Sammy and Norman’s souls broke off and got resurrected as those…things,” Alice explained. “Joey’s been trying to stabilize them, but they only have soul fragments so there’s not a lot we can actually do.”

“Wait…Joey? Joey’s here?” Henry immediately sat up straight at that. 

“Papa Drew’s been hiding, just like us,” Edgar said. “We can’t get caught by the others or they’ll absorb us.” 

“Except Bendy went chasing after the other me.” Alice huffed. “He’s going to get himself hurt! I just know it!” 

“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Charley put a hand on her shoulder. “We all told him that she didn’t take the real Boris.”

“Bendy’s always been a hardhead.” Barley agreed. “Never listens to anyone.” Henry’s mind was reeling. He could hardly believe this. He’d been so sure Joey had been the strange Bendy creature chasing him. He shook his head, trying to calm his mind. 

“We should probably get him back.” Henry got to his feet, wincing a little bit. 

“We can’t just take you to get Bendy back!” Alice shook her head. “It’s too dangerous!” 

“I’m already in danger.” Henry smiled wearily. “Now let’s go get my son back.”

.

.

“I look so stupid,” Sammy muttered, adjusting his tie for what felt like the millionth time. He wasn’t even sure how Joey had convinced him to do this. Joey had started a glee club freshman year and had recruited a surprising amount of people to join. Half of them weren’t even musically inclined. Hell, they were all pretty sure Thomas didn’t even go to their school. Sammy wasn’t technically a part of the glee club, but he’d been roped into their regional performance because Grant was out sick and the two of them had similar vocal ranges. 

“You look lovely!” Joey slapped his back. 

“I look so stupid,” Sammy repeated, running a hand through his long hair. 

“Tie your hair back.” Susie handed him a hair tie. “You need to look nice for performance.”

“Fine fine.” Sammy sighed and took the tie, tying his hair back with one deft motion. 

“Hold still, Wally!” Allison said. She was currently trying to tame Wally’s mop of curls, with very little success. Everyone was in the dressing room backstage, trying to get their appearances in order. Joey had, naturally, shown up already dressed to the nines and perfectly in order. Of all of them, Wally was the one most in need of a makeover, which Allison had taken upon herself. 

“Maybe leave the hair,” Susie suggested. “We have to go on in ten minutes.”

“Alright, everyone!” Joey clapped his hands together. “This is it! This is the culmination of all our hard work!”

“Thanks again for doing this,” Henry whispered to Sammy. “This means a lot to Joey.”

“Yeah yeah. I know.” Sammy shrugged slightly, trying to hide the flush that was entering his cheeks. 

“Ink Machine? You’re on.” An organizer stuck his head into the dressing room. 

“Right! Thank you!” Joey gave him a big grin. 

“Remind me why we’re called Ink Machine again?” Wally asked, taking a hair tie from Susie and forcing his hair into a ponytail. 

“Because Joey likes drawing,” Thomas said flatly.

“That makes no sense!” Wally insisted as they left the dressing room. 

“It doesn’t have to.” Shawn said brightly.

“I stopped questioning it a long time ago.” Norman slapped the smaller boy’s back. “You’d do well to do the same,” Wally grumbled to himself but didn’t bring it up again as they headed to the stage. Sammy found himself suddenly struck with a sense of terror. He’d never actually sung in front of people besides the glee club. He abruptly stopped moving, unable to force his legs to go forward. 

“You can do it.” Susie put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “We’re here for you.” Then she joined the others onstage. Sammy forced himself onto the stage, taking his place beside Thomas. This was it. Then they began to sing.


	34. Chapter 34

[Last prompt set until April](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/172154939400/last-prompt-set-until-april)

 

 

> Submitted by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> Feeling kinda down cause of stuff I was reading elsewhere, so let’s have a few lighthearted prompts.
> 
> -Two characters have a conversation in bed  
> -The gang’s reactions to BATIM fan songs (game events not canon)  
> -Playing Overwatch or Super Smash Bros
> 
> Since this is so soon, I’m gonna hav this be the last set until the month of Sammy Lawrence’s debut. :)

I’m sorry you’re not feeling great. 

* * *

“Do you think chickens have feelings?”

Henry groaned and rolled over. “It’s the middle of the night, Sammy.”

“But…do you?” Sammy stared up at the ceiling. 

“Sammy, we have work tomorrow,” Henry said. “I want to sleep.”

“Right. Sorry.” Sammy nodded and Henry relaxed a little, focusing on getting back to sleep. Unfortunately, a few minutes later, Sammy started talking again. 

“Do you think Joey ever thinks about sacrificing us to Satan?”

“Definitely,” Henry answered without thinking. “But that’s beside the point. It’s 2 AM and I would like to sleep.”  This was a situation he’d been in more than once. His boyfriend tended to get existential when he couldn’t sleep. Usually a firm ‘no’ was able to derail Sammy’s train of thought and get him back to sleep. But not this time.

“Would he straight up murder us or-?”

“Sammy, I love you, but I don’t want to be having this conversation at 2 AM.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Silence reigned again for a few more minutes. 

“Henry?”

“Yes, Sammy?”

“If I joined a cult, would you be angry?”

“Sammy if you start talking again I’m making you sleep on the couch.”

That succeeded in making Sammy stay quiet.

.

.

After the release of their horror mini-series, the gang of Joey Drew Studios discovered that people had begun writing songs about them. They’d found out through Sammy, who knew one of the people who was making the songs. The toons were, of course, delighted by the fan songs. 

“They’re real toe-tappers!” Bendy said as he tried to get Sammy to play Gospel of Dismay for the millionth time. 

“Mr Ryan’s a very talented man,” Alice commented, sitting demurely on a cot in the corner of the office. “Composing songs is hard, and he creates such amazing ones!” 

“Dance with us, Alice!” Boris urged, tugging on her arm. Bendy was already dancing to the song as though he was the only person in the room. Sammy couldn’t help but smile upon seeing the toons be so excited. Joey was similarly enamoured with the songs, even reaching out to Will Ryan and asking if he could write some songs for a few episodes. The last part had been Sammy’s suggestion. He knew Will felt underappreciated for his work sometimes, so he thought it would be good for him to do this. The collaboration proved to be rather popular, as it turned out.

.

.

No one had expected Allison to be quite as competitive at video games as she was. The studio employees had been having a party at Wally and Shawn’s home when Allison had discovered their console. 

“You wanna play something?” Wally asked. Allison turned to him very slowly, nodding and clutching a controller to her chest. Wally shrugged and put in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. 

“Shawn and I like playing this sometimes.” He said. “You’ve probably heard of it, right?”

“I’ve heard of it.” Allison nodded. She was staring at the screen with an intensity that honestly freaked Wally out a little. 

“You okay there?” He asked. 

“I’m fine.” She nodded again. The game booted up and they each selected their fighters. Wally chose Pikachu, because he liked Pikachu, and Allison chose Zelda. The match began and Allison’s fingers immediately began to move. Wally didn’t even stand a chance. 

“How did you do that?” Wally asked in stunned horror. 

“I have a lot of practice.” Allison smiled sweetly. As the night progressed, Allison continued to absolutely decimate anyone who dared play Smash with her. Each victory made her smile and hum to herself. Most everyone took defeat gracefully. Except for Joey. He was determined to beat the little voice actress. However, he didn’t play video games too terribly often and thus didn’t have the proficiency that Allison did. Each loss made him more and more frustrated until he threw the controller down and proclaimed the game was rigged. 

“Of course.” Henry just patted Joey’s shoulder as the older man sulked away. Allison smiled sweetly and went back to playing.


	35. Let It Be

A request from [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)

* * *

 

_When I find myself in times of trouble_

_Mother Mary comes to me_

_Speaking words of wisdom_

_Let it be_

Susie had been the one shining light in Sammy’s life at Joey Drew Studios. No matter how badly things went, no matter how awful the day was, she was always there, always right by his side, telling him it would be alright. She was an unflinching positive force in his life, never wavering, never falling. From the first time he’d met her, he’d loved her. She’d shown up at the studio, escorted by Joey, smiling at everyone and introducing herself. Sammy hadn’t been able to bring himself to snap at her, instead shaking her hand and smiling a little as he introduced himself.

_And in my hour of darkness_

_She is standing right in front of me_

_Speaking words of wisdom_

_Let it be_

In his darkest hours, when he couldn’t see any way out, Susie had been there. She’d put a hand on his shoulder and talked him through it. Susie never jumped to conclusions. She was a down to earth, no-nonsense sort of person. Honestly, her common sense was her strongest quality. It made him love her even more because she was the perfect foil to him. He flew off the handle at Joey more often than not and she reeled him back in, reminding him that it wasn’t worth it to keep yelling all the time.

.

.

 

_And when the broken-hearted people_

_Living in the world agree_

_There will be an answer_

_Let it be_

Then came the replacement. Allison Pendle, an intern in the music department, was given the role of Alice Angel. Then it was Sammy who had to calm Susie down and keep her from going off the deep end. But this time, she didn’t believe him. She’d accused him of being in love with Allison since he didn’t share her hatred of the intern. It wasn’t Allison’s fault, as far as Sammy was concerned. The girl was just an intern, bright-eyed and naive. So the two of them had parted ways as Susie left the studio in tears.

_For though they may be parted there is_

_Still a chance that they will see_

_There will be an answer_

_Let it be_

Still, though, Sammy held out hope that she’d come back. He wanted to believe the two of them could work out their differences. He still loved Susie. But she wouldn’t return his calls, wouldn’t let him in when he went to her house. Eventually, he just stopped trying. If she wasn’t going to let him try and fix things then he’d stop trying. It wasn’t worth it if she wouldn’t work with him. He threw himself into his work. Until, of course, Joey stripped away his humanity.

.

.

 

_And when the night is cloudy_

_There is still a light that shines on me_

_Shine until tomorrow_

_Let it be_

His memories were fuzzy, but he remembered Susie. He remembered her smile, her voice, but never her face. But he didn’t need to remember her face. He had her memory, and that was enough. In his darkest moment, he remembered her and he still had hope. He’d see her again one day, and the two of them would be happy. He couldn’t remember why they’d parted, but he was sure they would be able to work it out. They could be happy again.

_I wake up to the sound of music_

_Mother Mary comes to me_

_Speaking words of wisdom_

_Let it be_

He still had faith he’d see her again, someday. He’d become human again and he’d see her again. Even as Bendy destroyed his form, he had hope. She’d love him. She’d love him the way his Lord wouldn’t. Everything would be alright.


	36. Chapter 36

[Prompts](http://queenofcats17.tumblr.com/post/167966894155/prompts)

 

> by [@magicalmonsterhero](https://tmblr.co/mctfDpl6LStDVGfHpM3ZLTA)
> 
> One quote, one what-if, and one song:  
> -“You left me behind, Susie!”  
> “I know. And it was the worst mistake I ever made!”  
> -What if Alice and Bendy’s roles were swapped?  
> -Let It Be (The Beatles)

 

Let It Be will get its own post.

Here’s [Monster Alice’s](http://yunisverse.tumblr.com/post/166001419721/so-in-your-rubberhose-au-does-now-only-alice) design, courtesy of [@yunisverse](https://tmblr.co/mRGj3hUquKMYprA0_Sc5RnA)

* * *

The first time Henry had seen Alice Angel, the flagship character of the studio he’d built with Joey Drew, he’d been stunned. Alice was deliberately supposed to be a beautiful character, but the creature that lunged at him from the ink machine room barely looked human. So he’d run away as fast as he could. Then had come the music department and Sammy. Sammy had always been rather infatuated with Susie, even while the studio had been running. Now, he worshipped the ground she, or rather Alice walked upon. He called her ‘my lady’, even trying to sacrifice Henry in the name of his wondrous ‘lady’. Sammy’s sacrifice hadn’t worked, however, and Henry had been able to escape again. He’d ended up with Boris in the safe room, but that had only lasted so long. He’d had to leave again. Once he’d left…He’d come face to face with Bendy the Dancing Demon, and his best friend, Joey Drew.

It had been in a little room he assumed Joey had opened for Bendy meet and greets. Once Henry was inside, the lights had gone off and a prerecorded reel of Bendy’s jokes began. Henry couldn’t help but smile and laugh a little, drawing closer to the glass. Then all the lights went out, the only light coming from behind the glass, the area where the performer pretending to be Bendy would be. Normally, that would have been Joey. Joey had voiced the character, a bit character he’d hoped would become as popular as Alice someday. 

“I’M BENDY THE DEMON!” All of a sudden, a strange amalgamation of human and cartoon lept up, slamming its hands against the glass. It looked almost like Joey, but much thinner, and with demon horns and a tail. There was a shattering sound, and all the lights went out. 

“I see you there.” A voice so much like Joey’s whispered in the dark. “Now what’s a nice guy like you doin’ all the way down here? Do you really believe you can walk with a demon?” He laughed. “Well, let’s see how strong that belief of yours is.” 

The lights came back on and Henry was free to leave. As he made his way through the winding corridors, finding Boris and the elevator, he strained his ears for any sign of his friend’s voice. He didn’t hear it again until he got into the elevator. 

“You’re so interesting…So different.” The demon’s voice oozed through the PA. “I have to say, I’m an instant fan. Looks like you’ve got a date with a demon! Come to me. Level 9. Just follow the screams.” Henry rode the lift down, almost running out of the elevator once it reached its destination. He had to see for sure. Had to confirm that it was Joey.

“Come on, step out of your cage. There’s a whole twisted world out here.” Bendy beckoned him deeper into the studio, into his private sanctuary, filled with the corpses of discarded toons, their chests ripped open. 

“Look around. It took so many of them to make me so handsome.” Bendy’s voice was more cartoony now, less deep and threatening as Henry crossed the boards above the sea of ink. “Anything less than perfect was left behind. I had to do it. He made me.” Once Henry was across the boards he dashed through the doors until he was finally face to face with Bendy. He could see his friend’s face in the strange malformed creature. It had Bendy’s permanent grin, his little gloves, his silly shoes and horns. But it was Joey’s face and body it possessed, Henry was sure of it. 

“Now we come to the question…” Bendy turned his gaze to Henry, narrowing his eyes. “Do I kill you? Do I rip you apart to my heart’s content? How’s a guy to choose? Take this little freak for instance!” His head snapped towards the deformed toon he had tied up. “He crawled in here…Trailing his tainted ink to my door! It could have touched me! It could have pulled me back!” Bendy’s voice went high again as he clutched his head in his hands, inky hair falling on his face.

“Do you know what it’s like? Living in the dark puddles?” The demon asked, sounding small and scared. “It’s a buzzing, screaming well of voices! Bits of your mind, swimming…like…like fish in a bowl! The first time I was born from its inky womb, I was a wiggling, pussing, shapeless slug. The second time, well, you can see the results.” Bendy’s smile widened to an almost crazed expression. “That angel isn’t going to touch me again. I’m so close now. So…almost perfect.”

 

“Joey,” Henry whispered, but his friend couldn’t hear him.

“I’ll spare you,” Bendy said. “For now. Better yet…I’ll even let you out of here. But first, you’ll have to do a few favours for me. Get your butt back to the elevator. We’ve got work to do.”

Henry was reluctant to leave his friend, but the shutters slammed shut over the windows. So Henry left, went back to the lift. Bendy barked out some menial task for him to complete, and Henry vaguely noted it in the back of his mind. He didn’t care what he had to do.

“There are so few rules to our world now. So little truths.” Bendy said as Henry made his way up the stairs. “But there is one rule we all know and respect down here. Beware the Ink Angel. Stay out in the open for too long and she’ll find you~ If you see her, you better hide. Alice is scary when she’s angry.” Henry smiled a little to himself. It had been a running joke between him and Joey how much Alice was based off Susie and her no-nonsense attitude. A few scenes of her yelling at Bendy had been lifted straight from her chewing out Wally. How he wished he could go back to those times.

As he continued, Henry made a note of every time Bendy said something.

“Have you met her? The ink angel?” Bendy’s voice whispered through the PA system as Henry tromped down the stairs. “I hear she hears everything. Every creak of the floor. Every rustle of paper. I wouldn’t run so fast if I were you, bud. You never know what’ll set ol’ Alice off.”

When Henry went to the elevator, Bendy had something to say.

“Sammy told Alice she had talent. He always was a good liar.” The demon spat. “Still, Alice always thought he was a very handsome man. It didn’t even matter how easily he betrayed us.” Nothing else Bendy said seemed important. Until the last thing. Henry had completed everything Bendy had asked of him, but he didn’t want to go back to the lift. For all the shit Joey had put him through, he couldn’t just leave his best friend.

“Why aren’t you going to the lift?” Bendy asked, rather confused. “Don’t you want to get out?”

“Not without you,” Henry said. “I can’t leave without you.” For a moment, the demon was silent. Then he burst out laughing.

“Really? Is that so?” The doors to his sanctuary opened once more. “Then come back and prove your devotion to me.” Henry entered the doors and they slammed shut behind him. Boris watched from the elevator. He knew Henry wasn’t coming back.

.

.

Susie was coming back to the studio after 30 years. She couldn’t believe it, honestly. She hadn’t thought of Joey Drew Studios since she’d stormed off in a huff that fateful day after being sacked. She’d never looked back after that. Honestly, being fired was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Free from the restraints of Joey Drew, she’d gone on to voice a number of beloved characters. None of them ever had the same lustre as Alice Angel, but it was work nonetheless, and she still loved doing what she did. She even voiced a character for Disney! She’d never thought she’d be able to do that. Yes, fate had been kind to Susie Campbell. She’d gotten everything she’d ever wanted. People knew her name. People loved her. Still, she couldn’t help but think of Sammy every now and again. He’d always told her she had talent. As she got out of her car in front of the studio, she wondered if he was still there. Judging from the lack of other cars in the parking lot, probably not.

“Okay, Susie, you can do this.” She said to herself, clutching Joey’s letter to her chest. With a deep breath, she plunged inside. She’d heard rumours that the studio had closed down, but assumed Joey’s letter to mean the studio was still running. However, no one greeted her when she stepped inside. In fact, no one seemed to be there at all. Susie frowned to herself. How strange. She decided to forgo turning on the ink machine, she hated that thing, and instead took the stairs down to the music department. No one seemed to be down there either. The lights weren’t even on. She fumbled around in the darkness until she found the switch, turning it on. Almost immediately, things jumped out at her from ink puddles on the ground. Susie screamed, flailing about until she grabbed a discarded plank of wood and hit the things. They dissolved, harmless piles of ink again. Susie could only stand there, breathing heavily as she stared down at the puddles. Had that been real? It couldn’t have been. And yet, the ink stains on her board said it was. She shook her head. She couldn’t panic now.

“Sammy?” She called out, beginning to tentatively make her way through the department. “Are you here? Joey sent me a letter saying he wanted to show me something. Do you know where he is?” There was silence. Susie sighed as she approached his office. The damn platform had flooded again.

“Where’s Wally when you need him?” She muttered.

“I don’t think you want to know that, Susie-Bell.” Susie stopped in her tracks at the familiar voice. She turned around slowly, her heart dropping as soon as she caught sight of him. Susie had expected to see the handsome face she’d grown so used to during her time at Joey Drew Studios. Instead, she saw what appeared to be an ink blob given life. It still had the general appearance of a person, arms, legs, a head, a neck, but there were no discernible features save for a mouth. The creature wore a battered Bendy mask around its neck.

“Sammy?” She asked, eyes widening.

“Were you expecting someone else?” The thing with Sammy’s voice asked, the mouth twisting in disdain. Yep, that was Sammy.

“It’s so good to see you.” Despite his strange appearance, Susie still threw her arms around him, pulling him close. Hugging him was…strange. She could feel the ink rubbing off on her, thick and gooey and…warm.

“You’ve been gone for so long.” He said, voice hollow. He didn’t push her away, but he didn’t lean into her embrace either.

“I know, and I’m sorry.” She pulled away, cradling his face in her hands. “But I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t take being here while I couldn’t voice Alice.”

“You left.” He said. He looked almost angry. “You left me here!”

“I…I’m sorry.” Susie took a step back. “I…You got my letter, didn’t you? I said you should leave too. Why didn’t you?”

“He caught me before I could.” Sammy’s body was quivering with barely contained rage. “You left and you never came back! You’re just as bad as Henry! You left all of us! You let him do this to me!”

“Sammy, please.” She could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “Please, stop yelling.”

“You left me behind, Susie!” The inky abomination that used to be Sammy Lawrence roared.

“I know, and it was the worst mistake I ever made!” Susie was on the verge of tears. “I thought about you every day! I wanted you to leave so we could be happy together! I missed you, Sammy! Every day!” She collapsed to the ground, sobbing. “Why didn’t you leave?”

“I couldn’t.” A change came over him as he put on the Bendy mask. “But now that you’re here, we can be together. You can be Alice again.” All the anger seemed to leave him. He knelt beside Susie, enfolding her in his embrace.

“I- What?” Susie looked up abruptly. “What are you talking about? The studio went under. There’s no more Alice.”

“Here, Alice is alive. They all are.” Sammy smiled. “Come with me, and you can be Alice once more.” Everything in Susie was screaming that this was wrong, that she shouldn’t trust Sammy. But she let him help her to her feet and lead her back upstairs, towards the ink machine. She’d missed being Alice. She’d missed Sammy. She wanted things to go back to the way they’d been before. All her worries were drowned in ink, with only Sammy’s voice getting her through it.


End file.
